ASSESSING FLEXIBILITY IN REAL ESTATE MASS HOUSING

Authors

  • Golshid Gilani UPC -Polytechnic University of Catalonia Institute of Sustainability (IS.UPC)
  • Özlem Olgaç Türker Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture, Famagusta, North Cyprus

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/arq.2020.161.09

Abstract

One of the most important considerations in housing design is flexibility, which refers to the idea of including change over time. In looking at recent residential architecture of Cyprus, especially in real estate housing as a subset of mass housing, unfortunately, flexibility is not considered enough as a leading concept. The aim of this research is to evaluate notions and stages of flexibility in real estate housing projects in a recently developed residential context on the Salamis coastal line between the cities of Famagusta and Trikomo. The first step is flexibility assessment from an architectural perspective, through analyzing the architectural drawings of the projects to find out the potential for long term flexibility in terms of ‘structural’, ‘functional’ and ‘cultural’ notions; whereas, the second step is evaluating flexibility in three phases as ‘design’, ‘construction’ and ‘usage’ stages through questionnaire surveys with both construction companies and users. The results indicate the flexibility from the company’s perspective and defragment the inhabitants’ external and interior flexibility needs in three different stages, highlighting the role of companies and architects in designing flexible housing that can adapt to various users and their changing needs and preferences.

Keywords: Adaptability, user needs, flexibility stages, interior space, architecture.

Author Biographies

Golshid Gilani, UPC -Polytechnic University of Catalonia Institute of Sustainability (IS.UPC)

Golshid Gilani was born in Iran in 1985. She earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture at Azad University, Iran, in 2008, M.S. in Architecture in the Department of Architecture at Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus. She is now a PHD candidate in institute of sustainability ((IS.UPC) at Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain. Her research fields are sustainability, building envelope, flexibility, vernacular settlements.

Özlem Olgaç Türker, Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture, Famagusta, North Cyprus

Associate  Professor Dr. Özlem Olgaç Türker is a full-time academic member of Department of Interior Architecture at Eastern Mediterranean University-EMU. She has accomplished B.Arch. at Istanbul Technical University; M.F.A. at Hacettepe University, Turkey; and PhD at EMU, North Cyprus. Her research interests are interior design, interior architecture education, housing, conservation, adaptive reuse, flexibility, sustainable tourism, and vernacular architecture.

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Published

2019-03-06

How to Cite

Gilani, G., & Olgaç Türker, Özlem. (2019). ASSESSING FLEXIBILITY IN REAL ESTATE MASS HOUSING. Arquitetura Revista, 16(1), 154–175. https://doi.org/10.4013/arq.2020.161.09

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2020): Jan-Jun

Section

Articles

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