The AIA has released the latest edition of its Home Design Trends Survey, covering the category of “home features.” The report found that quarantines, working from home, and climate change are among the factors contributing to changing home design trends. Among the key findings from the report were an uptick in demand for outdoor living space, multiple home offices, and exercise space, and features such as solar panels, backup power generators, and hurricane-resistant design.

The demand for outdoor living spaces continues to grow, with a 70% increase in popularity compared to 2020. Home office popularity increased 69%, while a demand for multiple offices or spaces for virtual meetings increased 48%. There was also a 39% increase in demand for exercise rooms/yoga spaces. Over half of respondents noted either outdoor living spaces or home offices as being the most popular special function room demanded by clients.

The report shows a notable uptick in demand for accommodation that facilitates multiple generations, increasing in popularity by 49% from last year. Other accessibility features which have shown large increases in popularity include wider doorways/hallways (43%), ramps/elevators (35%), and on-grade entry (33%).

The reports also suggest a growing client awareness of climate change, with the demand for net-zero/super-insulated home features increasing 27%, and hurricane/tornado-resistant features increasing 19%. Technological features which continue to show increases in popularity include electric car docking stations (74%), back-up power generation (60%), energy management (56%), and solar panels (54%).

“Outdoor living space and home offices have been popular for years, but the dramatic increase in demand for them, along with multiple laundry facilities and patio heaters indicate homeowners are staying home more and want to be prepared in the event of another shutdown,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “Rapidly expanding demand for super-insulated homes, back-up power generators, and other features that allow homes to function in the wake of catastrophic weather events, signal homeowners are increasingly concerned about climate change.”

The full interactive report is available here. The latest survey, which spans the third quarter of 2021, follows the previous edition of the Home Design Trend Survey from June, which covered “Home and Property Design.” Key findings from that report included a statistic that the nationwide demand for larger homes has increased for the first time in five years.

The latest AIA report is one of a number of recent insights into the business of architecture. Last month, the AIA published its Architecture Billings Index for July showing six consecutive months of positive billings for firms, while another report found that architect compensation has not kept pace with the broader economy. In July, meanwhile, the organization published a report finding that construction should surge from 2022 onwards. Also in July, a report from the federal government found that U.S. residential construction is accelerating, but that not all regions are feeling the boom equally.