Adaptable housing: accommodating change

Abstract

My work, published essays and books listed below, provides new insights into architects’ approaches to housing design since the beginning of the twentieth century. Drawing on methods from both history and practice the work uses primarily drawn building studies familiar in professional journals for comparative analysis. Two interrelated issues, housing designed to be adaptable (or flexible) and housing designed for families other than the norm of the static, nuclear family, characterise the approach to the work implicit through the selection of case studies. A reflective essay considers the work in the context of attempts to introduce flexible housing typologies and the potential impact on the role of the architect and the consumer. Further context is provided in an appendix setting out an annotated chronology of relevant legislation, reports and recommendations, to raise questions about its complexities and the contemporary renewed focus on minimum space standards as the primary tool to improve housing quality.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton