How has the pandemic affected intimacy? Why are people going off open-plan design? And will remote-working trigger an urban exodus? In this part of the 2021 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about the forces set to shape our homes and relationships in the year ahead.
Dr. Katherine Twamley is an associate professor in sociology at UCL. Her research focuses on gender, love and intimacy, and family, with a particular interest in India and the Indian diaspora. She is currently leading a multi-nation research project called ‘Family and Community Transitions under COVID-19’.
Lily Bernheimer is an environmental psychologist, consultant, and author of The Shaping of Us: How Everyday Spaces Structure Our Lives, Behavior, and Well-Being. Pioneering user experience design for the built environment, Lily has led human-centered design projects across the workspace, urban, residential, and justice sectors since 2007. As founding director of Space Works Consulting, she has worked with organisations like the Ministry of Justice, Transport for London, and Grainger plc, and writes for Psychology Today. Her research on wellbeing in prison design with matter architecture was awarded the 2018 RIBA President’s Award for research in ethics and sustainable development.
Dr. Philip N. Cohen is a sociologist and demographer at the University of Maryland whose research focuses on families, social demography, and social inequality. He has written dozens of academic articles, many essays and op-eds, and two books, including The Family: Diversity, Inequality, and Social Change (2021).
Lottie Hanwell is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. She has a degree in English Literature and Spanish, and spends a lot of time thinking, researching and writing about developments in society and culture. On her weekends, she likes to run, read and make a mess in the kitchen.
