Ergonomic Shaping of Functional and Spatial Program of Housing

Abstract

Housing needs, as well as technical and economic factors influence the size, structure and standard of a dwelling. The structure and functional and spatial program of housing should enable fulfillment of broadly understood needs, both existential as well as higher-level ones. Oftentimes a dwelling is a place of realization of conflicting needs, such as those concerning maintaining social relations or isolation from the environment. Such needs should also be taken into consideration in the design process. Ensuring high quality of a dwelling is connected with its suitable standard. Functional and spatial programming considers, i.a., important social issues, such as the size and structure of households (families, informal communities, single people), affluence of residents or their specific needs (e.g. people with disabilities). Functional and spatial organization and technical equipment of a dwelling should provide the highest possible comfort for work and relaxation. Residential architecture should also take into consideration future changes of needs and lifestyle. Therefore, it is recommended to disseminate the concept of flexible housing susceptible to later functional, technical and even surface changes. The paper presents the criteria of functional and spatial programing, standards and zoning of dwellings. The analyses will be carried out in the context of users’ social and technical requirements. The aim of the paper is to formulate project criteria and to indicate an optimal type of dwelling which would be adaptable to users’ current and future needs.