Towards a new Existenzminimum: defining principles for the co-design of affordable collaborative housing

This thesis brings forward the design dimension, and, more specifically, co-design, to the study of housing affordability. Co-design occurs when end-users and professionals work together towards a common goal. It is a process often applied in collaborative housing, an umbrella concept encompassing different housing forms based on collective self...

A new minimum: the potential for existenzminimum dwelling concepts in renovation projects

Inspired by the Existenzminimum movement of the early 20th century, the feasibility of historic efficient housing concepts is studied. The canvas for this is the renovation design of a post-65 housing complex in Amsterdam. Three concepts reinterpreted into a modern context and applied in the design. The first is a sharing concept with smaller...

Reinterpreting Existenzminimum in Contemporary Affordable Housing Solutions

During the housing crisis of the 1920s, the German concept Existenzminimum (minimum dwelling) was developed and applied to the construction of public social housing. It was considered a design laboratory, where research, design, and experimentation would focus on a unique goal: create a space-efficient affordable housing typology, based on...