ABSTRACT
With age, apartment buildings tend to become increasingly inadequate for residents. Apart from the physical degradation of the buildings, fast changing resident profiles and new formats of habitation mean that the standardized designs of many apartment buildings cannot accommodate differing and changing needs, leading to inadequate living conditions and the de-identification of residents with their homes. If demolish & rebuild has long been a common solution, research shows that this is not always sustainable nor feasible, and technical fixes and renovations often fail to deliver meaningful changes that satisfy the needs and aspirations of residents. It proposes that architects who used participative approaches in the renewal of apartment buildings achieved improved results: by turning residents into ‘co-producers,’ they were able to effect transformational change of existing housing rather than superficial fixes. This chapter analyses opportunities and problems associated with participatory redesign approaches for apartment buildings and examines the specific challenges associated with private, multi-owned properties.
