The New York Times - USA (2020-11-15)

The coronavirus could be the crisis that fi-

nally propels the tech-averse real estate in-

dustry into the 21st century.

Location matters less, now that the office

is the kitchen. Size matters more, now that

everyone is at home. And the best way to

justify exorbitant prices is no longer the

building’s amenity package — it’s peace of

mind walking from the lobby to the living

room.

These are the touch points for a host of

new or newly valuable technologies emerg-

ing in the post-Covid housing market, from

rent-regulated apartments to luxury con-

dos. They range from robotic furniture that

reimagines itself inside our shrinking walls,

to contactless apps designed to bring neigh-

bors together. They are futuristic takes on

prosaic features, like ultraviolet wands in

air ducts, and “Ghostbusters”-inspired

blasters to hose down Amazon boxes. Some

may be passing fads.

Still, the ones that stick could have long-

term implications for a stubbornly analog

industry, even as some critics have raised

concerns about data collection and privacy.

And it remains unclear whether these im-

provements will reach the workaday hous-

ing market, or remain a luxury niche.

Here are some of the products and ideas

that could stay with us long after the pan-

demic.

Robotic Furniture

Transforming furniture is hardly new —

consider the folding Murphy bed, patented

more than a century ago. But housebound

workers, cramped in overpriced studio

apartments, might welcome an upgrade

that not only saves floor space, but doubles

as a tidy Zoom background.

Ori, a robotic furniture company short for

“origami” that was founded in 2015, re-

cently introduced the pocket office: an al-

most seven-foot-tall sliding desk that, with

the tap of an app, expands from a 30-inch-

deep cabinet into a full-size desk with stor-

Covid Shoves the Industry

Into the Future

There looks to be no going back to the old

methods of doing business. But which

technologies will propel housing forward?

By STEFANOS CHEN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

J. F. PODEVIN

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020

MB

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CalculatorSearching the nation for Energy Stars. PAGE 2 Bionic BrokersRobots take the lead at open houses. PAGE 3

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