‘Lost Space’ Found: Reconsidering Functional Ambiguity as a Strategy for Housing Design

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2023218931

Keywords:

Portugal, Housing, Free Plan, Adaptable Design, Lost Space, Functional Ambiguity

Abstract

The current response to housing issues, undoubtedly a pressing problem of our time, implies an acceptance of the diversity of ways of living and their transformation over time, in addition to factors such as demographic movements, the ageing of the Western population, and climate change, which call for a thorough review of housing types and their implementation. A review of this calibre cannot be conducted without the awareness that the problem, despite its current nature, has persisted over time, and given rise to an extensive body of knowledge. This paper aims to highlight the innovative design strategies geared towards a more open configuration of the dwelling and which are supported by theoretical research. The text opens by revisiting the free plan in its multiple configurations as the seed of adaptable design and advances to offer a more in-depth examination of the case of Portugal in the 1960s, a period in which the construction of affordable housing underwent considerable development. The notions of lost space, superfluous space, circulation and functional ambiguity emerge in this context of scarcity with great critical acuity. A short selection of contemporary case-studies, included in the last section of the paper, lead to a renewed reflection on the pertinence and relevance of these notions applied to current housing design. 

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Author Biographies

Tiago Lopes Dias, University of Porto

Tiago Lopes Dias (Porto, 1978) is an architect, PhD in Theory and History of Architecture (Barcelona, ​​Polytechnic University of Catalonia, 2017) and a contract researcher at CEAU-FAUP. His work focuses on the relationships between theory, criticism, history and architectural design in the western context of the 20th century and, more particularly, in the Iberian context. He is currently developing the research "Housing in the Iberian Peninsula: Architecture, Theory and Criticism in the 1960s and 1970s" (FCT 2019-2025). Between 2016 and 2021 he was an assistant professor at ETSAV-UPC. 

Rui J. G. Ramos, University of Porto

Rui Jorge Garcia Ramos (Viana do Castelo, 1961) is an architect and Full Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP). Its main areas of study are the spatial devices of the house; the relationship between culture and ways of living; housing programmes; and the "inclusive architecture" from aging to sustainability. He is a researcher at the Center for Architecture and Urbanism Studies (CEAU-FAUP) and was the Principal Investigator of the interdisciplinary project "Mapping Public Housing: A Critical Review of the State‐Subsidized Residential Architecture in Portugal 1910–1974" (FCT, 2016-2020). He held several positions in the University of Porto, having been Vice-Rector between 2014 and 2018. He is currently President of the Scientific Council of FAUP. 

Gisela Lameira, University of Porto

Gisela Lameira (Viseu, 1978) is an architect and a contract researcher at the Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism/ Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP–CEAU, Portugal), and holds a PhD in architecture from FAUP (2017). Her research interests include the study of architecture and urban theory and history, specifically the genesis and transformation of multifamily housing. She worked as a research fellow on the FCT project “Mapping Public Housing: A Critical Review of the State‐Subsidised Residential Architecture in Portugal (1910–1974),” hosted by FAUP/ CEAU [P2020-PTDC/CPC-HAT/1688/2014] and is currently undertaking research for the research projects “Ageing in Place/Architecture4Ageing”and “Housing Think Tank: knowledge integration on multi-family residential buildings" (HoTT),” at FAUP. Between 2019 and 2022 she taught History of Contemporary Architecture at FAUP. 

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Published

2023-12-31

How to Cite

Dias, T. L. ., Ramos, R. J. G. ., & Lameira, G. (2023). ‘Lost Space’ Found: Reconsidering Functional Ambiguity as a Strategy for Housing Design. ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, (21), 170–183. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2023218931

Issue

No. 21 (2023): Habitat Perspectives

Section

Topic papers

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