Nikolaos Lagarias
A New Case for Space: Affordable Housing for Dundee's precariat through a reconsideration of the minimum space standards.
About
Throughout the late 1990s up to modern times, the average UK tenant pays a minimum of 30% of their monthly wage towards rent, with that number reaching up to 50% or more in certain areas, thus generating a sense of living insecurity. Living insecurity, as well as employment and income insecurity, have brought to existence a new socio-economic group called the "precariat". Rising demand and increasing rent costs have pushed the precariat into accommodation that operates within the minimum space standards, proving to be insufficient in most cases and leading to problems such as overcrowding and lowered living standards.
"A New Case for Space" will critically examine the current UK space standards with a view to addressing the needs of Dundee’s precariat class for stable and affordable housing. The above will be further analysed through the investigation of previous attempts to meet contemporary needs and accommodate the lifestyles of different populations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This thesis project also proposes a design framework to be implemented through the retrofit of Dundee's Eagle mill that meets the spatial requirements and contemporary primary needs of the precariat, as well as identifying which primary functions should be included within the dwelling in order to accommodate their needs.
Axonometric drawing
Through Year 5 Macro Micro’s research of the UK’s shortage of adequate housing and housing poverty, a series of indicators were set as the basis for the investigation. Those indicators included fuel poverty, inaccessible housing, inaccessible community services, and overcrowding. The precariat class often tends to live in small and overcrowded spaces that usually operate within the minimum space standards, as they tend to be the most accessible ones within a housing crisis that has made it almost impossible to own a house and rent prices have exponentially increased. As the precariat have an increasing income instability, especially with the current world inflation and housing crisis, it is essential to uncover a way to stabilize their living standards and provide accessible and affordable housing.
Perspective Section
As this thesis proposes the retrofit of the Eagle Mill of Dundee, it offers a design proposal for a mixed development that would cater for different lifestyles and household sizes. The proposed dwelling typologies range from family living to single or married persons. "The human problem for the future in the design of flats and maisonettes is to provide for people who live in them an environment that is as workable and satisfactory as for people who live in houses. Often, most of the needs are met in mixed developments of flats, maisonettes, and houses, which provide the opportunity for larger families to live at ground level or near it." - Homes for Today and Tomorrow (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1961)
Different typologies for different lifestyles
Retrofitting the mill to accommodate the purpose of affordable housing led the design of the housing to be defined by the existing floor layout of the mill, which due to its structural grid of columns allows for a flat layout that could be replicated throughout the whole floor. This thesis examines two different approaches to adaptive retrofit. The first one is using the existing shell of the building, including the existing floors, columns, and structure, to create the typologies accommodating one to two persons. The second approach is repurposing the existing car park and the steel truss structure used as a shelter into family typologies.