FLEXIBILITY IN SUPPORTS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF SELECTED PHYSICAL DESIGN VARIABLES UPON THE FLEXIBILITY OF SUPPORT TYPE HOUSING SYSTEM

Supports are housing systems in which there exists a hierarchical relationship between the set of primary sub-systems such as physical structure and exterior enclosure, and the secondary set of interior sub-systems such as partitions, bathrooms and kitchens. Supports are not dwellings, but structure within which dwellings can be formed using light-weight interior components. These systems provide a high degree of variability and adaptability due to the flexibility of the relationship between the primary sub-systems and the secondary sub-systems.;Contrary to conventional housing design practice, such systems are designed on an indeterminate, or non-specific, basis, the objective of which is the optimization of flexibility in the potential application of the system. The present research addresses the question of design for variability and adaptability in this type of housing system.;The main body of the research is devoted to an empirical study of the influence of various selected physical design variables upon the level of flexibility of systems. The independent variables, the variables of physical design, are defined by the employment of the analytical technique, Morphological Analysis. The dependent variables are the types and levels of performance of housing flexibility. The statistical level of relationship between the degree of flexibility in systems and the physical variables of systems is analysed in the study sample. Again using techniques of Morphological Analysis, the findings are recorded in a form which can be employed as an aid in optimizing flexibility in the process of designing Supports or as a basis for the analysis of existing designs.;The findings demonstrate the validity of the original hypothesis that flexibility in housing systems is a heterogeneous phenomenon and the design determinants of one type of flexibility may not necessarily be conducive to a high level of performance in another type. The research further provides insight into the problem of general rules of planning for flexibility in housing and into the general systems problem of variability and adaptability in architectural systems, of which Supports are a specific case.