Housing Design for All

Delft University of Technology via edX Professional Certificate

Overview

The demand for adequate and sustainable housing is greater than ever. Nearly a billion people live in inadequate conditions, and the need for new housing continues to rise – yet any solutions must minimize their environmental impact. This program addresses two of today's most pressing challenges: how to design adequate housing and how to make it sustainable.

Because every city, region and community has unique needs, housing solutions cannot follow a one-size-fits-all model. This program takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the various factors that shape housing design. It integrates key strategies for inclusive housing with sustainability principles that reduce energy use, enhance resource efficiency and promote affordability.

The program is ideal for professionals, students and anyone passionate about sustainable housing. You will explore case studies from diverse regions and different contexts. By combining global perspectives with innovative design solutions, you will gain the insights and tools you need to create housing developments that are resilient, inclusive and environmentally responsible.

This program has been developed by TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Sustainable Housing Design

Learn about practical and innovative design approaches to reduce energy use, enhance resource efficiency, ensure affordability, and foster sociocultural integration in the housing sector.

Course 2: Global Housing Design

Learn about the key design strategies required to develop adequate housing and inclusive dwelling environments for sustainable urban development.

Courses

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6 weeks, 4-5 hours a week, 4-5 hours a week
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Building adequate housing is a pressing issue worldwide. With close to a billion people currently living in slums, accommodating a growing population, and improving dwelling conditions is a critical issue for society.

This challenge cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all approach. Every city, region and country demand their own housing models and prototypes. That’s why housing design needs to negotiate many aspects simultaneously to achieve sustainable urban environments and inclusive dwelling communities.

This course uncovers how social, economic and environmental factors are interrelated in the design of housing settlements. For this, the course dives into three key aspects that anyone involved in housing design should take into consideration: time, environment, and community. Each of these aspects will be examined through a specific design approach, respectively:

Incrementality

How dwelling environments should be able to accommodate growth and change through time.

Typology Mix

How design can be responsive to different patterns of inhabitation, aspirations and cultural backgrounds, creating inclusive dwelling environments.

Clustering

What methods and strategies can shape the association of dwelling units in order to create meaningful communities.

In this course, each of these themes will be discussed in detail and exemplified by a new analytical approach to award-winning housing projects developed in different geopolitical contexts.

While each of these themes will examine aspects related to the design decision-making process, the course aims at addressing concerns that go beyond the design disciplines. Hence, regardless of background or level of expertise, this course will introduce learners to the core issues and challenges of global housing design, using examples from different regions.

This course has been developed by TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). It offers a unique combination of videos, documentation of key case studies, animations, and feedback sessions. We will discuss options for affordable housing design, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. We will take you through the intricacies of designing “housing for the large number”, as well as inspire you to understand your own context and the housing challenges you might be facing.