A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Master of Science

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1989

The present day versions of shelter in the form of mass housing are usually meant to meet the quantitative requirements of people such as habitable space. However housing also can reflect subtle and symbolic purposes pertaining to specific individual traits such as personality and identity which are qualitative in nature. The present study reveals that a person who tries to meet his immediate shelter needs satisfies with a mere house, but once settled he tends to modify his living space, particularly the exterior of the house, in an attempt to create a personalised living environment. Further it reveals that socio-economic advancement of people, mostly in terms of income and social status, as the major cause which catalyse this process. In some societies, socio-economic mobility of people may result their movement to new locations. This phenomenon was noted insignificant in the studied housing schemes in Sri Lanka where people have taken the alternative of adapting their houses to meet new housing needs. This phenomenon is most often not visualized by the designers so that mass housing schemes are under a threat of becoming organised slums due to haphazard modifications. Therefore it is argued that the possibility of socio-economic mobility of people should also be considered in designing housing for them. It is expected that flexible house designs in terms of land, open space and physical structure may cater for the changing housing needs of these people better than the usually provided prototype house designs. Thus the present study proposes three levels of design flexibility viz, spatial flexibility, physical flexibility and structural flexibility, Since the existing housing policy of support-base' can accommodate the flexibilities proposed with minor amendments, the study attempts to specify the required changes in housing strategies.