Flexible housing proposal for new families
Making more flexible houses according to the needs of American families is one of the new modern architectural proposals that exist today. Breaking the pattern of traditional families, usually composed of parents and children, is aimed precisely at those nuclei of tenants who have different interests and whose composition varies. Currently, this new family genre makes 80% of North Americans.
The designs range from motorized and sliding walls to poly-functional furniture and making room to decorate again and again according to the needs of the owners of these houses. Recently, the Washington Museum exhibited this kind of proposal in "Making Room: Housing for a Changing America".
The exhibition, which was inaugurated in November 2017, also shows the "Open House," creativity of the Italian architect Pierluigi Colombo, co-founder of the firm Clei. The company presents a flexible space adaptable to the occupying members of a home. His idea is to try to improve spaces for densely populated cities and families that are growing in number and have not always home availability. The sketches of Pierluigi Colombo start from the assumption of two singles and a couple that in the future will grow inside the same home. The idea of the Italian designer is for each member of the nucleus to own their own space and this responds to their tastes without affecting the space of the other cohabitants. Chrysanthe Broikos, the curator of the museum, said that at the end of May, the housing prototype will be reconfigured to adapt it to a family of retirees, with a rental apartment.
Broikos explained as well that one of the advantages of Pierlugi’s house designs is that they are only 93 square meters, but seem larger on paper. The structure is easy to reconfigure and re-decorate precisely for having folding beds, walls, sofas or tables. The walls are creations of the prestigious firm Hufcor, from Wisconsin, who designed sliding walls precisely to re-adapt the rooms over and over again. Lisa Clecker, marketing director of Resource Furniture, whose multifunctional furniture is displayed, commented that furniture should be part of those retrofits that should exist. According to the specialist, "a room should not be like a photo in time. It must be adaptable. "
The specialist believes that currently a challenge for designers and architects is imposed, because in addition to harmony and beauty, they must achieve functionality and rationality. "The great novelty is that if you want to renovate or reconfigure your house, it is vital that you think long-term and be flexible in the design," said the expert. The concept of these designers is that the house should be fluid and be able to adapt to different environments and consequently, the walls and furniture. Among the infrastructure that has the new prototype are kitchens with adjustable shelves and counters that can adjust its height. On the other hand, accessibility for people with disabilities was also taken into account.
Sarah Watson, deputy director of the Housing and Planning Council, considers this new housing proposal as very innovative. According to her, most of households are composed by aging population, “so we must find new solutions for those tenants with greater or less physical and cognitive abilities.”
Some specialists like Dan Soliman believe that this housing proposal will have to be taken into account in the urban projects of future cities.
