Building adequate housing is a pressing issue worldwide. With close to a billion people currently living in slums, accommodating a growing population, and improving dwelling conditions is a critical issue for society.

This challenge cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all approach. Every city, region and country demand their own housing models and prototypes. That is why housing design needs to negotiate many aspects simultaneously to achieve sustainable urban environments and inclusive dwelling communities.

The Global Housing Design MOOC uncovered how social, economic, and environmental factors are interrelated in the design of housing settlements. Therefore, the course dived into three key aspects that anyone involved in housing design should take into consideration: time, environment, and community. Each of which were examined through a specific design approach, respectively:

• Incrementality: how dwelling environments should be able to accommodate growth and change through time

• Typology mix: how design can be responsive to different patterns of inhabitation, aspirations and cultural backgrounds, creating inclusive dwelling environments

• Clustering: what methods and strategies can shape the association of dwelling units in order to create meaningful communities

While each of these themes examines aspects related to the design decision-making process, the aim was to address concerns that go beyond design disciplines. Hence, regardless of background or level of expertise, the course introduced learners core issues and challenges of global housing design, using examples from different regions and historical periods. Learners had the opportunity to learn about the key design strategies required to develop adequate housing and inclusive dwelling environments for sustainable urban developments.

This course was developed by TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). We discussed options for affordable housing design with a specific focus on low- and middle-income countries, taking learners through the intricacies of designing “housing for the large number”, and inspiring them to understand their own context and housing challenges they might be facing.

Dates:

First run (instructor-paced): March 03, 2021 (duration of 6 weeks)

Second run (self-paced):May 10, 2021 (ends October 7)

Price: FREE

https://www.edx.org/course/global-housing-design

Team:

Dick van Gameren (Netherlands)

Nelson Mota (Portugal)

Frederique van Andel (Netherlands)

Rohan Varma (India)

Ramona Scheffer (Germany)

Stephany Knize (Bolivia)

We are pleased to have seen so many people participating in the first run of our MOOC, and we hope this can be the seed to create a global network of people interested in the correlation between housing design and sustainable development.

For 6 weeks, we’ve rejoiced with the creativity and imagination that participants invested in the assignments - this video is just a glance to all the wonderful material they've presented. We really enjoyed exploring housing design from different angles and perspectives around the world, understanding different dwelling practices, policies, challenges, and possibilities to re-think housing as a key component for a better collective future.

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