Have you ever thought about how our outdoor space has altered to reflect the changes in our communications?

In my grandparents days, it was common for houses to have sprawling verandas and welcoming front porches facing the streets, so home owners could catch cool breezes on warm summer days and chat with folks passing by. In that way, everyone kept up on community gossip and the news of the day. These architectural additions were not just a barrier, or even a transition between the outdoors and the interior of a house, these spaces were gathering places, protecting the privacy of the home and family, while providing hospitality.

Then, as automobiles gained more prominence, making streets noisier, and as TVs, fans and air conditioners became American staples, front porches shrank in popularity and size, eventually giving way to back decks and patios. Although I’m no architectural historian, it feels as if there’s a direct correlation between the 24/7 news and social media cycles and the disappearance of space in which to engage with the broader community. In many neighborhoods –  mine for example – residents know each other mostly through the dogs they walk. Front porches were to engage with everyone, back decks and patios welcome selective few.

Think about our communications for a minute.  We’re battered all day long by people wanting to “break down our front door.” We’re bombarded with emails, newsletters, newspapers and magazines, TV and radio ads, snail mail, social media, imessenger, facebook calls, texts,  slacks, phone calls, and now zooms and webinars. If alterations in our exterior space reflect these changing communications, it’s a wonder we haven’t all built moats around our houses.

Now, that the coronavirus that has become an unwelcome visitor for what appears will be the long haul, what I wouldn’t give for a good, old-fashioned, giant, wrap-around veranda, onto which I can invite friends, and the passing neighbor for long chats in person, while still socially distancing.

Architects, are you listening?

Originally published in the July 16, 2020 issue of Beyond the Nest, a free, weekly e-newsletter or arts, culture and recreation.