Housing Flexibility: A Framework for a Quantitative Evaluation Method due to Turkish Designers

Abstract

Purpose Flexibility became an important factor affecting the quality of housing projects in Turkey nowadays due to the requirement of the permanent mobile/dynamic lifestyle. Thus, a responsive housing design should be developed to allow modifications that respond to the changing demands of the tenants through time. Although it is a major debate in housing design for many years in western countries; the Turkish perspective of housing ignores the adjustment to changing needs and compensates it with big-sized dwellings, causing space consumption. This contradicts with the Turkish roots emerged from the nomadic lifestyle with the tent. Housing flexible design is an essential requirement in Turkish culture historically. This study aims to develop a quantitative evaluation method, in order to assess the level of flexibility, defining the indicators and the hierarchy to measure it. Design/Methodology/Approach In order to establish a Flexibility Assessment System, Value Engineering method is applied, a tool used in decision-making process to choose the ideal solutions. Additionally, this system will contribute to the improvement of the “architectural quality of housing” in Turkey, since now it is evaluated and commercialized merely by the calculations of the surface areas. Findings Despite that most of the experts have a different understanding and evaluation of flexibility, they concurred on some indicators to measure and evaluate flexibility. Moreover, this study has created a clearer definition of the terminology of flexibility from the point of view of Turkish society and provided basic guidelines for the implementation of flexible housing design. Research Limitations/Implications Quantifying a complex design parameter as flexibility using the Value engineering method requires the division and analyse the opinion of expert separately from the end users’ opinion. Originality/Value This study is the first study defining the criteria of flexibility, and their quantitative evaluation from Turkish cultural view. Moreover this study creates a more clear definition of the terminology of flexibility from the point of view of Turkish society and provides basic guidelines for the implementation of flexible housing design.