Choice, Adaptability and Circularity in Housing

Book excerpt: Current planning and design modes of residential environments are facing challenges of philosophy and form. Past approaches no longer sustain new demands and call for innovative thinking. In a world that is becoming highly urbanized, the need for a new outlook is propelled by fundamental global changes that touch upon environmental, economic, and social aspects. This book addresses these contemporary social transformations and trends. It argues that homes need to offer greater choice in the preoccupancy stage, adaptability once the occupant moves in, and, when the structure or its subcomponents end its useful life, facilitate circularity. The book begins with an introductory chapter that sets the stage for the ones that follow and describes current societal transformations which merit a new conceptual approach. A chapter on the history of flexible and adaptable design follows. Each of the following chapters stands for an aspect of home’s design and construction to offer innovative solutions to the challenges that are posed at the outset. The chapters include designing for affordability, aging in place, modularity, circularity, and lower-income communities. Each of the chapters is accompanied by a case study to illustrate these innovative trends and ideas.