Everybody outside. That’s the thing right now, and an idea that is really catching on. After a winter of some quite daring creative solutions, including igloos, yurts, rooftops fitted with transparent cabins (as in the case of The Greens in New York), marquees equipped with UV-C ray air sanitisation and designers making settings welcoming and distinctive, the world of outdoor dining is now gearing up for the summer. Customers, understandably, are looking forward to enjoying their meals spending as much time as possible outside, not only because they want to feel safe if there are still restrictions in place, but also because of a yearning for the sustainable natural world.

In the USA, restaurants have been open for some time for lunch and dinner, but in states such as New York there are still restrictions on diner access to indoor spaces. The weather played a key role last season, with Texas seeing unusually freezing conditions that forced it to introduce measures more typically adopted up north, while in cities like Miami, after the first few weeks of the pandemic, restaurants were able to reopen thanks to their outdoor areas: courtyards, patios and sidewalks.

The key to being able to keep on working has been resilience and the reorganisation of spaces (not just as a temporary measure) because of new health regulations, which it is hoped will eventually be eased. In any case they are now looking ahead to a time in the future when interaction between indoor and outdoor spaces will be the norm.

A survey conducted by the magazine rd+d revealed that 62.5% of designers consider that improvements or extensions to outdoor spaces will be a factor to take into account when designing new establishments, while 21% think it will be essential to ensure that spaces are flexible.

On top of that, many designers, architects and urban planners believe that the outdoor environment will change the very structure of the city. “It’s time for a new tradition,” mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times following last winter’s Open Restaurants programme: “It was a big, bold experiment in supporting a vital industry and reimagining our public space. And it worked. As we begin a long-term recovery, we’re proud to extend and expand this effort to keep New York City the most vibrant city in the world.” Other big cities, from Los Angeles and Cincinnati, are now also thinking about permanently extending concessions on the occupation of space.

There has been an explosion of creativity, with everything from underwater spaces based on the blue of the Italian restaurant Marea to the evocation of a Tokyo market created by the Japanese restaurant Buddakan, both in New York, with interiors and exteriors dynamically involved with traditional cuisine. As the weather improves, there will be a need for plants and pergolas, and sun blinds can also protect against the rain, as happens at the Meat Market in Tampa. Rooftops will be back in vogue: their use as a dining space looks set to be repeated in the coming season: in New York, Azul on the Rooftop has recreated the atmosphere of a Cuban bar on its roof.

This is all about turning a need into an opportunity: outdoor dining areas will be successful because they are a wonderful way of making your presence felt “out on the street”, highlighting with greater clarity everything an establishment has to offer. And the ability to stand out from the crowd will definitely be one of the secrets to success in the months and years to come.