H ou si ng f o r ms so ci a l , ec on om ic and eco lo gi ca l f ea tu r e s

1. Housingformssocial, economicandecologicalfeatures Dr. Alexander Slaev

2. Social factors / features of residential forms • Significance of the social features of the residential forms in the 1930s the modernists raised the cult of the social role of architecture. In the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970sthousands of housing estates (residential complexes) were build all over the world following the principles of the Athens Charter. A couple of decades laterthese estates became "bedroom zones" for the working class. Yet after another cople of decades the Anglo-American school (known for its criticism to the Athens Charter)is still unable to overcome the problems ofsocial segregation in the "suburban world" – the endless suburbs of Western towns. These suburbs are, indeed, the real "bedroom" zones of today. • Main groups of social features / factors of the residential forms • social segregation / integration • creation of local communities with strong internal connections- neighbor (inter-neighbor) contacts • intensive urban connections to createfavorable conditions forprofessional realization and use of public services

3. Groups of social features of the residential forms • Social segregation/ integration Single-family housing stimulates the establishment of zones based on the social status of their inhabitants: zones for the middle class, for working class, for people with very high living standard, etc. Multi-family housing forms stimulate the processsocial integration between the dwellers – in most apartment buildings houshold of different social status live together. • Stimulation of social connections within local communities Connections within local communities (between neighbors) are stronger in areas with single-family housing and between neighbors in multi-family buildingswith not more than 5-6 dwellings. Inmulti-family buildingswith more than 10 dwellingscontacts between neighbor decrease with the increase in the number of house holds. • Intensity of connections between residents in a town Urban areas (towns) exist for people to be able to exchange the fruits of their labor in a most efficient way – to sell their labor at the best priceand to use in exchangethe fruits of the other people's labor. That is why the connections within a town or a city have major importance for social life, but they are determined to a graeat extend by the types of housing forms.

4. Single family forms and FreestandingMulti-family forms – social features

5. Urban block and section structures and corridor buildings – social features

6. Terraced, hill-type and duplex structures – social features

7. Economic factors / features of residential forms The economic factors/ features of the residential forms relate to economy of land infrastructure and building costs • Minimizing costs of land and infrastructure The lower the Coefficient of intensity (koef.izkoristenosti. FAR – Floor Area Ratio), the larger land territories are consumedand the longer the road and infrastructure networks. Respectively, these costs are highest for detached housing, and are lowest for residential towers, for high-rise urban block and section structuresand high-rise corridor buildings. • Minimizing building costs • Building structure of low-rise buildings is easier to realize and, therefore, – cheaper • On the other hand, the share of service space for high-rise in high-rise buildings is smaller, which is a factor for lower costs • The building costs of terraced structures are higher because of the complicated structure, but this is not true for the duplex structures • In very high-rise buildings (more than 20-25 or 30 floors) Costs of installations (equipment) are very high too

8. Ecological factors/features of the residential forms Ecological factors/features of the residential forms relaterelate to minimization of • intervention in natural environment • consumption of non-recyclable resources • Minimization of intervention in natural environment means: first of all consumption of less land. With this respect the highly intensive residential forms are highly recommended- forms with high FAR (koef.izkoristenosti) • Using only recyclable resources for construction and maintenanceof dwellings (heating, light, microclimate) • For the construction materials that are recyclable (natural, reproductive by/ in nature) are highly recommended – such as timber, ceramic (bricks, roof tiles) etc. These are applicable in low-rise buildings and structures. • Highest possible thermo-insulation properties. Minimal external surfaceis easier to realize in multi-family forms • Highly efficient installations – it is easier to realize in smaller forms (single-family or low-rise), but is much more efficient in multi-family high-rise or groupedbuildings with large number of dwellings

9. Single family forms and FreestandingMulti-family forms – economic and ecologic features

10. Urban block and section structures and corridor buildings – economic and ecologic features

11. Terraced, hill-type and duplex structures– economic and ecologic features