Alternative housing designs for changing life-styles in Japan

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the factors affecting the transformation of user requirements for a single family detached house by analyzing changing technology and life-styles of the traditional and modern house and to use these factors as guidelines for alternative building systems. Chapter 1 gives an overview of trends in housing construction and describes the user requirement profile with required floor area for each life stage. In Chapter 2, the underlying ideas of house, family and home in Japanese culture are analyzed to determine the factors which influence housing design and the way the Japanese live. Specific changes in life-style and housing design were analyzed in order to clarify certain issues which affect residential design. In Chapter 3, alternative performance statements are determined, based on changing life-styles. Chapter 4 briefly describes the four-stage development of housing industry technology after WWII. In Chapter 5, typical house plans of three selected development stages are compared and analyzed with regard to changes in technology. Principal transformation factors are derived from this analysis. Finally, projected trends assessing the future of building systems in Japan are discussed in the conclusion.