Luxury living spaces are changing. Rapid urbanisation has lifted consumers’ expectations higher than ever and left space at a premium. Meanwhile, the function and design of spaces are being transformed by luxury consumers’ shifting priorities.

In response, a new notion of Compact Luxury is emerging that encapsulates the modern high end in a streamlined space. Design is being refined to be perfectly sufficient rather than excessively material, and to favour a simple, rather than a superfluous, approach.

The three emerging trends that we identified are:

: Liberated Living
How a boundaryless mindset is emerging among consumers, driven by a desire for flexibility.

: Immaterial Affluence
How consumers are forgoing traditional markers of wealth, embracing increasingly immaterial forms of luxury instead.

: Conscious Wellbeing
How consumer concern around urban living is driving a desire for spaces that support individual and collective wellbeing.

In this report, we explore the social, cultural and technological forces that a reshaping these trends, reveal the drivers behind the emergence of new behaviours, and uncover the future Compact Luxury innovations that they will inspire.

‘There’s a move towards seeing yourself as flexible and mobile, so your sense of self and the way you establish an identity is not necessarily now tied to establishing roots.’

Simon Saint, Principal at Woods Bagot

In response to rapid urbanisation, luxury consumers are looking to consume more consciously, less conspicuously, and more flexibly than ever before. These needs are naturally impacting design decisions as each space in the home undergoes transformation. Bathrooms are a space for personal care and relaxation. As such, they will come into focus particularly as a place to tend to one’s wellbeing away from the hyper-stimulation of the city.

As designers begin to consider the bathroom of the future, the following microtrends will emerge: 

: Net-positive Bathrooms
As consumers become more. environmentally conscious than ever before, consumers are already causing a shift in how buildings are designed and considered. Simon Saint notes that the next step after net-zero will be regenerative spaces: People are beginning to embrace net-zero as a new standard, and the next thing on from that will be spaces that can actually regenerate and have a positive impact within the wider city.

: Programmable Places
As technology develops, spaces will become hyperpersonalised through smart features that can adapt to each individual occupant — meaning, even in a shared space, a level of temporary customisation will be achievable.

: Sanitised Sanctuaries
COVID -19 has underscored the need for heightened sanitation and made consumers more demanding of it than ever before. Promisingly, many emerging innovations contain a dual hygiene- benefit: touch-free faucets, for instance, can not only sense usage to prevent excess water waste but also prevent contamination and the spread of germs with fewer contact points.

Discover our Equilibrium Cities macrotrend on LS:N Global – demanding a more receptive and equitable built environment that will allow future urban generations, nature and businesses to thrive.

DISCOVER EQUILIBRIUM CITIES 

‘[Bathrooms] will come into focus particularly as a place to tend to one’s wellbeing away from the hyper-stimulation of the city. ’

‘Post-pandemic, people will understand that a healthy community not only embraces individual wellbeing but is rooted in good-quality interior and exterior environments.’