,Affordable Housing Possibilities
Affordable housing challenges include high construction, labor, and land costs as well as restrictive zoning regulations.
Builders will have to double the size of housing in the next five to six years, to close the supply gap.
The focus on creating safe and affordable housing is rapid construction, increasing density and building smaller, more efficient homes.
Architects, planners, designers and policy makers have an urgent need to address this through innovative approaches.
When assessing recent design trends, certain types of housing may work to better support affordable and sustainable housing.
Affordable Housing Possibilities
Modular housing
A modular house is a house nearing completion when it arrives on the site,
also referred to as a prefab house, as these houses arrive on the site as multiple elements of the house,
which are then assembled on the foundation.
This approach to home construction helps reduce costs due to the manufacturing process,
the basic version of modular homes can be inexpensive due to the fast construction time and low labor cost.
A standard 2,000-square-foot home can also start at $100 to $200 per square foot.
In terms of construction, the modular home uses high-quality materials and machine-built joinery systems, reducing the frequency of annual repair needs.
Due to their robust nature, these homes can withstand many types of weather conditions.
The Swan Housing Association has completed an affordable housing project in East London using cross-linked plywood.
Work began in late 2018 and by January 2019, 151 off-site units had been moved to the site.
Then the kitchens and bathrooms were installed first and then the electrical and plumbing work was completed,
then the remaining units were placed and fitted out simply by a simple process of connecting them.
Due to the modular nature and assembly process of this type of housing,
the project delivery time has been accelerated, reducing the total working hours and the overall project cost.
Tiny houses
According to the US Census, single-family homes have been experiencing slow growth since 1995.
The land crisis has made it difficult to build affordable mid-size homes and, moreover,
the exorbitant construction costs have made it impossible for builders to produce affordable family homes at the level required to fill the housing gap.
One solution likely to address these problems is to build tiny homes.
Micro houses are independent structures of smaller sizes that can exist on their own or alongside a large building.
A typical home in the United States has an area of about 2,000 square feet, while a tiny home is usually less than 400 square feet.
Given the philosophy of simplicity, tiny homes incorporate many amenities into a small space to ensure a comfortable and affordable living for the owner.
Many smaller home versions are designed to be off-grid, making them highly energy-efficient and cost-effective.
Affordable Housing Possibilities
Because of their small size, they cost a fraction of a traditional home on the site,
they can also incorporate many sustainable building technologies and materials,
and can be converted into carbon-neutral or carbon-neutral homes, with the addition of renewable energy capabilities.
Using local or recycled materials in the construction process, for example,
can keep the carbon footprint of homes relatively low.
An added advantage of its small size also means that the demand for internal energy to cool and heat the space is minimal.
Manufactured homes
Manufactured homes are built in the factory, but unlike modular units, they are fully assembled and only need to be placed on the property.
They are regulated by the HUD code and subject to different rules in different states,
and similar to prefab homes, these fully manufactured homes can be both cost-effective and energy efficient,
reducing the cost of construction to half the cost of a conventional home.
Additional measures can be taken to improve their energy efficiency by damming and weather erosion,
air sealing, and the selection of energy-efficient lighting and appliances.
Additionally, manufactured homes may also use sustainable materials,
which helps reduce the energy embodied in the home.
A big benefit of these types of homes is their scalability,
which not only helps builders and developers build entire homes and communities more quickly.
