Prof. Fionn Stevenson Sheffield School of Architecture Faculty of Social Science Sustainable Urban Institute Resilience Pecha Kucha 22nd October 2015 Housing resilience Prof. Fionn Stevenson Sheffield School of Architecture

The problem with housing… Smart’ buildings = increasing the use of technology Optimising systems – cannot cope with uncertainty Climate adaptation based on products - not interactivity adaptivity Climate change denial = ‘control’ the environment

Examining 3 case studies in UK

Lancaster Co-housing

LILAC Co-housing Leeds LILAC co-housing, UK LILAC Co-housing Leeds 01/05/2019 © The University of Sheffield

Saxton Gardens housing Leeds 01/05/2019 © The University of Sheffield

Critical vulnerabilities Heating sources Saxton = national grid for electricity is single source of heat Lancaster = robust and resilient with multiple power sources (PV, hydro, biomass, solar thermal, natural gas backup) LILAC = natural gas, national grid for electricity only Ventilation systems MVHR, MEV = poor interactive adaptivity, failure to respond after power cuts, occupants forget controls or fail to understand them.

Critical vulnerabilities Windows and doors Saxton = only minimal 10cm openings leading to overheating (only 30% openable area of glazing) Lancaster and LILAC = larger openings (50% of glazing area)

Critical vulnerabilities Building fabric Saxton = MEV switched off but leaky fabric provides enough ventilation Little solar shading in any of the case studies Balconies only provide part shading in Lancaster

Lessons for co-evolutionary adaptivity Future proof buildings for sequential upgrades – remember natural ventilation strategies Create redundancy and diversity in ventilation system Stress test for affordance – how usable is the building in extreme situations? Develop passive co-evolutionary strategies Collective learning on site – new tools being developed

Thank you – any questions?