Developing affordable and sustainable housing through energy, transport, and building utility integration

Housing affordability and sustainable development are not polarised ideologies as both are necessary with increasing urbanisation. We must bridge the gap between current median house pricing and target affordable house pricing whilst pursuing sustainability. This paper examines the potential of initial construction cost and ongoing utilities and transport cost reduction through the integration of sustainable housing design and transit oriented development principles in a Commuter Energy and Building Utilities System (CEBUS). It also introduces current research on the development of a Dynamic Simulation Model for CEBUS applications in the Australian property development and construction industry.

Routine maintenance and sustainability of existing social housing

Improving the sustainability of the housing stock is a major challenge facing the UK social housing sector. UK social housing accounts for approximately 18% of total UK housing and generates maintenance costs in the region of 1.25 billion pounds per annum. The extent to which routine maintenance can be used as a vehicle to improve the overall sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of existing social housing is one focus of a 5 year EPSRC funded research programme. This paper reports the findings of a questionnaire survey examining current social housing maintenance practices and attitudes towards sustainability. The research found that, whilst the stock condition survey is the favoured format for determining maintenance need and economics the basis for priority setting; neither systematically addresses wider sustainability issues; and, whilst cost is a major barrier to more sustainable solutions being adopted, landlords are able and have the desire to improve their practices.

Performance measurement and benchmarking of a major innovation programme

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the problems encountered and the solutions developed when using benchmarking and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor a major UK social house building innovation (change) programme. The innovation programme sought improvements to both the quality of the house product and the procurement process. Design/methodology/approach: Benchmarking and KPIs were used to quantify performance and in-depth case studies to identify underlying cause and effect relationships within the innovation programme. Findings: The inherent competition between consortium members; the complexity of the relationship between the consortium and its strategic partner; the lack of an authoritative management control structure; and the rapidly changing nature of the UK social housing market all proved problematic to the development of a reliable and robust monitoring system. These problems were overcome by the development of multi-dimensional benchmarking model that balanced the needs and aspirations of the individual organisations with the broader objectives of the consortium. Research limitations/implications: Whilst the research methodology provides insight into the factors that affected the performance of a major innovation programme its findings may not be representative of all projects. Practical implications: The lessons learnt should assist those developing benchmarking models for multi-client consortia. Originality/value: The work reported in this paper describes an inclusive approach to benchmarking in which a multiple client group and their strategic partner sought to work together for shared gain. Very few papers have addressed this issue.

Assessing Lifetime Homes Standards and Part M Building Regulations for Housing Design in the UK

The aims of this article are to examine Lifetime Home Standards (LTHS) and Part M of the UK Building Regulations and to discuss how relevant and successful they are. The UK government expects all new homes to be built to LTHS by 2013. This is increasingly important with an ageing population. The home environment can enable independence and provide a therapeutic place for everyone. As Part M of the building regulations are compulsory in all housing and LTHS are mandatory for public sector housing, a review of research articles was undertaken on these standards. The paper begins with a brief background on accessibility regulations, followed by a critical review of the standards that takes the body of literature that has been written around them into account. This review suggests that the standards should be improved and that designers and architects face challenges to creatively incorporate them into housing design.

A socio-technical network approach to the adoption of low and zero carbon technologies in new housing

Housing in the UK accounts for 30.5% of all energy consumed and is responsible for 25% of all carbon emissions. The UK Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes requires all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016. The development and widespread diffusion of low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies is recognised as being a key solution for housing developers to deliver against this zero-carbon agenda. The innovation challenge to design and incorporate these technologies into housing developers’ standard design and production templates will usher in significant technical and commercial risks. In this paper we report early results from an ongoing Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council project looking at the innovation logic and trajectory of LZC technologies in new housing. The principal theoretical lens for the research is the socio-technical network approach which considers actors’ interests and interpretative flexibilities of technologies and how they negotiate and reproduce ‘acting spaces’ to shape, in this case, the selection and adoption of LZC technologies. The initial findings are revealing the form and operation of the technology networks around new housing developments as being very complex, involving a range of actors and viewpoints that vary for each housing development.

Excavated housing in Crevillente (Spain). Constructive and typologycal study

Underground architecture has sheltered man for many centuries, but the current need to emphasize the bioclimatic approach makes the study of excavated housing essential. This traditional construction is a part of the collective human living experience but also a reference in using the natural conditions of each region through simple proposals based on ground thermal inertia. The aim of this paper is to show the typological evolution of the excavated dwelling in Crevillente, in southeast Spain, compared to other worldwide architectural proposals or urban solutions. To show their adaptation to the regional geography and to comprehend both formal and material characteristics of these simple typologies, which do not need extra energy contribution for interior conditioning. This work is part of the doctoral thesis of the author.

The relevance of harmonising the technical level of social housing with the urban level of the neighbourhood through the example of the 500 dwellings in Albacete

The Architecture and Household Trade Union built nearly 2,000 subsidized dwellings in Albacete from 1941 to 1971. It was the responsible entity from the end of the Civil War until the beginning of Democracy of the social policy programs in Spain. Later on, and together with the National Housing Institute, were responsible for the construction activity. Its limited budget, scarcity of technical and human resources and an urgent need for new housing developments, constituted the basis for producing a vast housing market of low construction qualities. However, thanks to the true architectonic expertise of some of the professionals, some of the developments were designed with a clear urban strategy and in direct relation with the city, which characterizes them to be studied and conserved. This is the case for the selected development for the analysis, the urban complex of the 500 dwellings in Albacete, the Hermanos Falcó Neighborhood. Designed and built between 1963, Alfonso Crespo and Adolfo Gil architects, and 1977 second reformed project by the architect Fernando Rodríguez. It is characterized by its layout on the territory, its controlled relation with the city and its different types of open blocks. Above all, its spatial and human scale strengths, directly related to the European post-war proposals, have to be emphasized; although its technical deficiencies affect the interior quality of the houses. This paper examines its virtues and failures and proposes, using current tools, its renovation. This proposal main aims are to extend its lifetime and develop the particular and urban sustainability levels.

Challenges to improve inter-professional care and service collaboration for people living with psychiatric disabilities in ordinary housing

The aim of this study was to describe health care- and social service professionals' experiences of a quality-improvement program implemented in the south of Sweden. The focus of the program was to develop inter-professional collaboration to improve care and service to people with psychiatric disabilities in ordinary housing. Focus group interviews and a thematic analysis were used. The result was captured as themes along steps in process. (I) Entering the quality-improvement program: Lack of information about the program, The challenge of getting started, and Approaching the resources reluctantly. (II) Doing the practice-based improvement work: Facing unprepared workplaces, and Doing twice the work. (III) Looking backevaluation over 1 year: Balancing theoretical knowledge with practical training, and Considering profound knowledge as an integral part of work. The improvement process in clinical practice was found to be both time and energy consuming, yet worth the effort. The findings also indicate that collaboration across organizational boundaries was broadened, and the care and service delivery were improved.