The Middle Class Home Reimagined
CREATING A RELEVANT ARCHETYPE by Clive Rudman RWH Architecture
clive @ rwharchitecture . com
It makes more sense to design utility infrastructure first and wrap residential accommodation around it than to allow accommodation and arbitrary design aesthetics to dominate the process , relegating utilities to an after- thought . This approach enables the house as an investment , to literally pay for itself over 20 years .
The criteria adopted by most in planning their new home , lies mostly in accommodation , aestheticsand invariably , cost . In a rapidly changing world , however , these criteria are increasingly showing deficiencies as dominant considerations . Unfortunately , the reversal of inertia required to changethe course of what is essentially popular culture imbedded in these decisions , is extremely difficult to alter . As it is , the bricks & mortar approach with plug-in utilities and water-born sewers dates back to Roman times and is nearly 2000 years old . That ’ s some inertia .
This arena has enjoyed very little disruptive thinking , particularly in the epoch of the internet , artificial intelligence and robotics . To make a start at defining an unaffected and relevant hypothesis to this question , the following aspects immediately spring to mind :
• ENERGY - ways of generating your own energy should be a design determinant .
• WATER - in increasingly short supply , fresh water management and use has been very much undervalued .
• WASTE - instead of flushing away our human waste in perfectly potable water to faraway destinations , waterless toilets , water retention facilities and water management integration mechanisms are required .
• FOOD PRODUCTION - an obvious byproduct to efficient water management .
• MODULARITY - a world increasingly filled with standardised compatibility , points to modular solutions of efficient manufactured mass production . The home needs to be seen in the same light as a commercial property investment . Successful commercial properties are not only exemplary in their efficient design of accommodation , but also in the financial return implicit to the way they have been designed . This trait is specifically missing in the way we see our homes as financial investments . Besides the benefits of capital growth over time , the home isn ’ t traditionally seen as a vehicle for financial return . This is a mistake .
If adopting a prefabricated modular mode of building saves you 20 % of your build cost , wouldn ’ t you spend the 20 % on a solar installation , water management system and waste management system that will make / save money from day 1 ? Imagine the compound financial effects of never spending another cent on energy besides maintenance ever again and cut your water bill by half forever more and ensures that you are not subject to any inconveniences due to electricity cuts or water supply cuts .
Your personal stockpile of over 120 kl of potable and rainwater water ensures that you can function autonomously for more than two months without any water from your local authority . In a world increasingly feeling the pressures of fresh water scarcity , this is surely a huge advantage . Because you also have efficient and integrated water management systems , you have access to enough free water to maintain your own hydroponics installation that provides you with fresh vegetables and passively improves your home ’ s insulating properties .
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY A broader strategy would involve the identification and acquisition of properties ideal in locality and attributes , but without access to electrical infrastructure . These types of properties will presumably be selling for a fraction of their potential value .
WHO BENEFITS ?
1 . The individual middle-class home owner needs to make / save a substantial amount over time , to motivate them to adopt this philosophy . This has been achieved by extrapolating a 20 year investment horizon .
18 Middle Class Home