Balconies as adaptable spaces in apartment housing

Abstract

New requirements for living, working, and learning at home due to Covid-19 have highlighted two fundamental needs in apartment housing: (1) adaptability to fit multiple functions in a limited area; and (2) access to private outdoor space to support residents' health and wellbeing, and to provide spatial and thermal variety in small units. The two needs may initially appear to be disconnected: when residents have a high demand for flexibility and adaptability in apartment housing, balconies tend to be overlooked as potential spaces to facilitate adaptability. An analysis of several international housing projects with innovative balcony designs and unit designs is the basis for the identification of several typologies of balconies. Typologies of adaptable balconies and examples are used to show how they may support housing adaptability within a dwelling. The 'adaptable balcony' concept is introduced in the context of multifamily housing design, together with a clear definition of active and passive adaptability by inhabitants. PRACTICE RELEVANCEApartment balconies are often overlooked as design elements capable of influencing housing adaptability. This paper explores how adaptable balconies could support and improve residents' functional use of their dwellings. The ease of adaptability, how and to what degree residents can adapt their balcony spaces, are shown in built examples. The 'adaptable balcony' concept in the context of multifamily housing can provide developers, designers, and inhabitants with an enhanced, more flexible use of domestic spaces. Several typologies of adaptable balconies are identified and considered for how they may support housing adaptability within a dwelling. Two notions of passive and active adaptability in balcony design can help designers facilitate the desired levels of adaptability in a project.

Simulation of received Solar Radiation for Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort in Flexible and Environmental Housing with optimal courtyard in a Csa Climate

“…Accordingly, the space should be oversized to a certain extent to allow for the deployment of various spatial con gurations before and after internal expansibility. Some studies have referred to the strategy of balcony adaptability through opening walls or doors by residents and the balcony's compatibility with the home space by increasing or decreasing the balcony area for integration into the interior and exterior spaces [29]. Radogna and Kalhoefer, emphasized the design of expansible units in response to environmental changes, focusing on combining multi-functional and the modi ability of interior space approaches [30].…”