Expandable Houses: An Explorative Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Charlotte Cambier, Waldo Galle and Niels De Temmerman
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Charlotte Cambier: Department of Architectural Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Waldo Galle: Department of Architectural Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Niels De Temmerman: Department of Architectural Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-28

Abstract: In addition to the environmental burden of its construction and demolition activities, the Flemish housing market faces a structural affordability challenge. As one possible answer, this research explores the potential of so-called expandable houses, being built increasingly often. Through specific design choices that enable the disassembly and future reuse of individual components and so align with the idea of a circular economy, expandable houses promise to provide ever-changing homes with a smaller impact on the environment and at a lower cost for clients. In this paper, an expandable house suitable for various housing needs is conceived through a scenario-based research-by-design approach and compared to a reference house for Flanders. Subsequently, for both houses the life cycle costs are calculated and compared. The results of this exploration support the proposition that designing expandable houses can be a catalyst for sustainable, circular housing development and that households could benefit from its social, economic and ecological qualities. It requires, however, a dynamic perspective on evaluating their life-cycle impact.

Keywords: design for change; housing; life cycle costing; transformable architecture; adaptable buildings; sustainable architecture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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