The House Reformed: A Reaction to Suburban Monotony

Joyless rows of monotonous houses are be- ginning to define the suburban typology of tomorrow. Quality and innovation is being compromised for speed and quantity and there is a distinct lack of consideration for the home’s potential to enrich and influence the life-styles and well-being of its occupants.  This thesis is a reaction to the researcher’s dis- satisfaction with New Zealand’s suburban typology and seeks to identify and demonstrate an alternative design approach. The research- er considers that a house should enable its occupants to flourish by instigating moments of joy and surprise whilst maximising economy of space.  The thesis uses an investigative research method of five different design tests. Each test reveals strategies to aid the approach of designing the suburban typology, focusing on maximising joy, surprise and economy of space.  Both digital and manual methods are used, revealing their respective strengths and flaws. The Digital method used in the Data House and Rigid x Fluid house tests lacked the ability to apply tangible aesthetic qualities to a de- sign. The manual hands on method of used in the Patchwork House and House Reformed tests was hugely beneficial for the aesthetic qualities of design, however it lacked the rigor and capacity to apply individuality on a mass scale.  Discoveries made in the thesis investigations are collated in a final design outcome, the House Reformed. This house design demonstrates a compilation of the successful strategies identified in the research and reveals the benefits of approaching home design with qualities of joy, surprise and economy of space. The most successful strategies used to achieve these aims were establishing a great- er connection with the outdoors, providing flexible spaces through the use of innovative partitions and furniture and injecting unexpected aesthetic moments through the use of interesting texture and colour.  Overall the research reveals a successful de- sign outcome and provides interesting in- sights into design method. It explores worth- while questions and issues related to the lived domestic experience such as the lack of joy, surprise and economy of space in suburban housing and demonstrates the importance of designing with such qualities.