1. 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

2. 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

3. Examining 3 case studies in UK

4. Lancaster Co-housing

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

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

7. 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.

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. Thank you – any questions?