Rethinking Housing and Lodging

Abstract

The technological and demographic changes of our age correspond with those of the late nineteenth century, fueling demand for housing solutions that are shared, flexible, serviced, and urban. Today’s plain apartment buildings were once considered radical, opposed by social critics, and avoided by most “proper” people. The notion of sharing a hallway, a laundry room, an elevator, or a roof with other families was seen as a recipe for moral decline. Perhaps it was then, but we now consider it normal. In turn, many of today’s radical design, ownership, and operating models will seem mundane to our children (if we have any).