Approach to social housing
An EXPLORATORY PROJECT will require you to propose a housing form for a particular urban site,
exemplifying and promoting the personal stance you have developed in relation to debates about  community, the role of the state, and the ethical responsibility of architects. In your final
submission, you will not be permitted to present your ideas orally – the aim will be to  communicate and advance your ‘approach to social housing’ entirely through posters covering no
more than the area of a single A0 sheet of paper (not even a physical model will be allowed).
The argument for your proposals is to be advanced and justified within an accompanying
illustrated essay.
Your ESSAY will outline the development of your personal views about social housing – traced
through built and projected schemes you have considered, favourite writings and relevant
theory, together with contextual analysis and critically evaluated personal beliefs and values.
It is recommended that your Essay should contain the following ingredients:
a) an introductory outline of questions explored in the readings / seminars, such as
? what do different people understand by the term ‘social housing’?
? how has social housing evolved into its current form?
? what are the main issues related to social housing today?
? what ideas about the nature of social housing offer the most hope for the future?
? what role might architects perform in order to improve social housing?
? (seminars may not address all the above, but may focus upon other issues instead)
b) identification of your own thinking about the design of social housing
? how your ideas about, and attitudes towards, social housing have developed
through participation in the seminar series.
? how you would now respond to a competition entry or commission to design
housing for a particular community.
c) explanation and critical evaluation of your own EXPLORATORY PROJECT (see above)
? how your scheme addresses the issues you consider important.
? which aspects of your scheme are less successful in addressing important issues.
? what other issues are raised by your scheme.
(note that assessment will focus upon the quality of your evaluation
rather than the success/failure or other qualities of your scheme).
d) conclusions in terms of the ethically grounded process you would (ideally) follow if  invited to participate in a social housing design project at some time in the future