Studying Flexibility and Adaptability as Key Sustainable Measures for Spaces in Dwelling Units: A Case Study in Baghdad

Abstract

This paper studies the functional flexibility as a sustainable design option used in housing. Family medium size has been grown and their needs of social and economic conditions have changed. In order to satisfy these needs, spatial layouts of their housing have developed or modified. Flexibility that is the capacity of spatial adaptation of development has considered as a useful sustainable option in the existing design. Since 2003, there is still a clear problem of covering the rapidly escalating demand on dwellings in Baghdad, the existing housing has been suffered from the densification, although the small capacity of spaces and fixed-designs. In addition to that, a trend of building dwelling units based on the retail sales of lands has been widely adopted from people to meet their dwelling needs. This paper thus answers the question: how can Iraqi dwelling occupants evaluate the flexibility and adaptability as key sustainable measures in their own homes? Methodology used a case study approach, Baghdad, Iraq has been selected for the case study, cooperated with the questionnaire technique to examine a set of apartments and homes. Results have shown that dwellers preferred the functional modification based on the inner space to meet the flexibility, but they have never relied on the flexibility as a sustainable tool of design.