THESIS SUMMARY
DESIGN THESIS THESIS DESIGN P1 S1 by Oliver Caleb Murray
THE UK HOUSING CRISIS
The UK housing crisis is both long-term problem, rather than merely a short-term crisis of supply. In addition to being a crisis of UN-AVAILABILITY, its also a crisis of UN-AFFORDABILITY (in particular for young generation) and under-occupation (in particular by the older generation). All the political leader have pledged to “build more” housing to make up for the short fall but this alone won’t solve the problem. We are not building enough homes, but at the same time, the ones that we are building, are generally not meeting the needs of their occupants or of the communities within which development takes place. Hence, this crisis is also a crisis of UNDESIRABILITY, UN-SOCIABILITY, and UN-SUSTAINABILITY (Parvin). This design thesis will attempt to address these issues as well as the primary ones; firstly by tackling our existing housing stock, and secondly by assessing which segments of the population are most under-catered for in terms of housing.
P2
THE COMMODIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE AND IDENTIKIT HOUSING
A major flaw within the capitalist system is that we produce of things not because they directly serve our wants, but merely in order to exchange them. The commodification of architecture is a process which started when ‘we began to understand our built environment as an investment vehicle’ (Cesal), and houses in particular began to be procured and produced by speculative house-developers primarily for their EXCHANGE-VALUE. ‘What happens to our social world when the house that was once conceptualised mainly in USE-VALUE terms as a home becomes reconceptualised as a capital asset?’ (Cesal). This reconceptualisation of our built environment is at the root of long list of global and national crises including; the recent global financial crisis and the real estate bubble that proceeded it, and the current UK housing crisis coupled with the poor state of domestic architecture in the UK (in particular the low-density, identikit housing built in our suburbs over the past 50 years and which is still being churned out up and down the country). This critique should be understood as the under-pinning political philosophy upon which the this design thesis is founded. Upon this theoretical foundation, the solutions proposed attempt to address both the roots and fruit of the problems identified. TYARD HOUSING 1:100
URBANISING SUBURBIA VIA DENSIFICATION
The concept of “urbanising suburbia” is a form of “Smart Growth”, a theory of land development which ‘opposes both urban sprawl and town cramming through inappropriate and unsympathetic high-rise development’. Sub-urban areas are considered to be unsustainable due to their low population and dwelling densities and their lack of local amenities. Therefore, in sympathy with this position, and in reaction to the UK housing crisis, a national Densification Scheme is proposed that seeks to “urbanise suburbia” and at least triple the dph in a pilot densification zone, DZ1 in Lower Earley, to create a compact community with an appropriate density to support sustainable transportation and local facilities. To achieve this three types of SUBURBAN-INFILL are to be explored; in-between infill (mainly garage conversions), above infill (adding up to three stories on top of existing two story houses), and back garden infill.
S2
MULTI-GENERATIONAL, COURTYARD HOUSING TYPOLOGY In reaction to the commodification of architecture and in particular the identikit housing built by speculative housing developers in our suburbs, a NEW HOUSING TYPOLOGY is proposed for developments within “designated densification zones” that will provide an alternative to traditional family housing - affordable, street-based, car-free, multi-generational, courtyard housing that seeks to cater especially for SEMI-DEPENDENTS; the active third-age (60-75 years olds) and the clipped wing generation (20-34 years olds still living with their parents). These developments are envisioned as bottom-up initiatives in which residents will procure their own housing and community facilities, via “collective custom build”. It is believed that SELF-PROVISION is perhaps the ultimate antidote to commodification for ‘changing who procures architecture fundamentally changes the architecture itself’ (Parvin). The success of the final design should be measured based on whether it produces long-term use-values rather than short-term exchange-values, or in other words, “homes to that are designed to live in and that are full of ARCHITECTURAL DELIGHT” rather than merely “houses that are built to sell”.