Rethink: Affordable Housing_Hive Housing
04/02/2019
With a national housing deficit of 1.7 million units, and the bulk of the real estate provision being undertaken by the private sector, it is expected that less than 10,000 units are developed each year. The average cost of buying a house in cities like Accra and Kumasi is usually around GHC650,000. Thus even the average middle class Ghanaian can barely afford a one bedroom home on their current income levels, emphasizing the need for a more effective affordable housing in the country.
Addressing this issue would require rethinking the very nature of affordable housing in Ghana, which typically focuses on employing cheaper building materials, cutting overheads on labour and generally reducing the quality of the finished built product to achieve prices that are even remotely competitive in the housing market. In an industry where buildings are priced per square metre, the initial focus must be during the planning stages of design process. Maximizing space on the land would be key in achieving value for each unit, minimizing the footprint of the building. Stacking the units in almost a building-block fashion was explored, utilizing the pocket of space created between units for balcony space which could serve as garden space for the different units or social nooks. Generating income from the individual units or the building itself was another strategy that could be used to supplement the expense of the unit for the developer/owner or the renter/buyer of the unit(s). This tied into an overarching theme for the development; 'Live, Work, Play'. This concept of living ties intricately with nature and how colonies of wildlife navigate their daily lives. The bee colony, living and working within a HIVE was an instant inspiration for what this kind of living sought to achieve.
To maximize the space for each unit and to keep units tight and compact required a combination of one and two-bedroom unit typologies. Each unit takes on a linear form, with the public spaces centrally located, and the private spaces arranged around them. The linear units are stacked, reminiscent of a Lego tower, inversely on each floor to create an interlocking form. This arracngement allows pockets of empty space between units that could serve as balcony areas for several purposes. The space also allows for the flow of air through the building. The arrangement inadvertently creates a courtyard space on ground, which could be utilised as a vegetable garden. This garden would have a whole host of benefits to the facility; it could serve as a source of food for the units, as a source of income to the building owner of the facility through the sale of harvested vegetables, and as a source of income to residents willing to tend to the garden in their spare time. All these uses have the potential to subsidize the cost of these units to residents.
The compact nature of the building would gretaly benefit from underground parking to greatly preserve the footprint of the building on any selected site, as well as allow for densification of these areas with more units and landscaping. The stacked nature of the design would allow for modular construction techniques to save on construction time on the building, as well as allow the building to grow, depending on the need for it.
Affordable housing tends to be plagued with the issue of crime and security, synonymous with 'slums'. The stacked nature of units creates sightlines to the entrances, front-yards, and balconies of lower units, promoting social surveillance and security among residents within the building. The shared balconies and central courtyards also look to promote social interaction, fostering the feeling of familiarity within residents of the facility.
