New Book Examines Factors Influencing Housing Design
January 9, 2024
The State of Housing Design 2023, published on January 2, 2024, examines how architects of residential dwellings are addressing issues of affordability, the warming climate, changing demographics, and increasing regulations and construction costs.
The 184-page book, edited by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, examines 100 recently built single- and multi-family housing projects to provide both designers and the general public with “an overview of the forces at play in contemporary design of housing.”
Along with affordability, the essays, visual content, and a crowdsourced survey of responses also looks at social cohesion, sustainability, aesthetics, density, and urbanism. Designers considered influences on exteriors, such as zoning and regulatory changes, and interiors, such as work from home trends and accessibility needs.
The State of Housing Design 2023 is the first report in a new series that reviews issues and ideas affecting residential design. To mark the book’s release, JCHS hosted a half-day event featuring panelists from various disciplines. One panel focused on “outside,” the second panel focused on “inside,” and the third panel focused on “elsewhere,” which included lessons that can be learned from abroad.
The Joint Center is a research center affiliated with the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. It has produced analyses of housing markets and policy for more than 60 years.
The book retails for $30 and is available from Harvard University Press and other booksellers.