Space Design Guide for Public Areas in a Multicultural Environment: Based on the Theory of Social Atomism

Background Since the pandemic began, people are becoming more individualistic through social distancing. This situation has led to a rapid increase in social atomization and it is necessary to reconsider the mission of multicultural public spaces. This article aims to provide suggestions on the design direction of multicultural public spaces in the increasingly atomized future world through a literature review and case studies. Methods This article reviews the literature on social atomization. The atomization of society is caused by the lack of social connections. With the development of society, the atomization of society has become a new challenge. Multicultural public spaces design in the post-epidemic era is still a relatively new research field. Therefore, this article combines representative examples of multicultural spaces, comprehensively considers the trend of modern society, and provides new ideas for the development of multicultural spaces under the background of social atomization. Results In this way, the designer must ensure that the task of the space takes into account the different needs of people, while providing the possibility to enjoy the space alone or by multiple people, so as to rebuild the connection between the individual and the society, and even build a vibrant intermediary community. Conclusions The concept of social atomization provides a new perspective with which to understand public spaces in a multicultural environment. We can obtain basic suggestions on how to improve multicultural public spaces through combining the results of a literature review and case studies.