Quality of Apartment Layouts in Contemporary Urban Housing: The Study of Riga

Abstract

Housing is not only shelter as well as a fundamental human right but also a setting which plays a vital role in daily life. In light of the housing issues in many urban settlements, it is important to consider human needs in efforts to solve housing problems. Unmet human needs may cause significant conflicts and pathologies for individuals and society. In turn, human-oriented design elevates the quality of housing and contributes to overall sustainability. Each year in Riga and its agglomeration, new residential projects appear. Little is known about how these projects respond to human needs and contribute to the overall goal of sustainability. This study aims to outline human needs theories in the context of housing design and to evaluate whether contemporary apartment layouts succeed or fail at fulfilling those needs. The investigation of human needs theories has been based on a relevant literature review. The exploration of housing evaluation systems in the United Kingdom and Switzerland has been used to link human need theories with measurable indicators regarding housing layouts. Afterwards, 12 indicators have been determined and used to assess case studies. The significant findings indicate that there are two main approaches to apartment layouts. In the case of the compact-budget approach, weaknesses, such as single-aspect orientation or small room dimensions, have been identified. In the case of the generous-luxurious approach, the much larger apartments and total floor areas allow for better layout options with added value in many instances. This paper also reviewed an extra case study, the Prototype project suggested by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, which appeared to demonstrate a mediocre performance in terms of human-centred design.