The prominent spatial qualities of the apartment typology and their influence on the dynamics of primary habitable spaces and residents’ wellbeing

Abstract

Urban morphology relating to domestic architecture is constantly adapting to new forms of building typologies. As social dynamics, relevant to both socio-cultural and socio-economic realities, contribute to the modification of residential buildings, the approach in design and construction of domestic space is also changing. Owing to this, spatial qualities which are crucial to the formation of domestic architecture are also affected by this change. The aim of the study is to delve into the essence of spatial qualities in relation to the specific apartment typology most common in the local context, that being the longitudinal and narrow apartment units. The study focuses on three prominent spatial qualities deemed as essential for human beings; these are informed after a process of investigating multiple readings, gathering of theory within a matrix system, and identification of the main recurring spatial qualities. The research gathered in the theoretical literature establishes that the transformation of domestic architecture within the local context, has led to the organisation of layout, natural light, and outdoor space and surroundings becoming three of the most prominent spatial qualities critical to the dynamic of the most common apartment units. Given the inevitably restricted deep and narrow layout, emerging primarily due to existing configurations of the plot itself, the consolidation of these spatial qualities are critical to the resident’s use of habitable spaces and influence on their wellbeing. As part of the research methodology, the literature explored is transformed into a theoretical framework, in order to gain a better understanding of how the influence of spatial qualities within the longitudinal and narrow apartment unit affects residents. A qualitative multi-method approach is adopted, consisting of observations within local case studies, supplemented by discussions with residents, as well as semi structured interviews with academics informed on the specific field relevant to this research. This allowed the researcher to provide a more focused, backed up comparative analysis throughout the discussion. The gathered data reveals that the prominent spatial qualities play a major role in the residents’ daily life. Spatial qualities play a key role in satisfying basic housing needs by encouraging effective use of space, relevant to architectural and urban design principles. The findings indicate how, despite the limited and rigid nature of the elongated plot, there are a range of possibilities that can be adopted to refine the comprehensive design of such prominent spatial qualities. The results of this study identify ideal spatial configurations for the use of habitable spaces, relevant to the observed prominent spatial qualities, while providing an informed understanding of how these contribute to the wellbeing of residents.