Stuff and space in the home: An understanding of material possessions to inform spatial storage design

Marco, Elena; Williams, Katie; Oliveira, Sonja; Sinnett, Danielle

Abstract

In the field of architecture, there has been little research on how the accumulation of material possessions is impacting on space for living in the home. There has been little understanding of what households own, collect, store and dispose of, nor the implications this might have for domestic space design, especially that for storage. Yet, householders can have their quality of life, well-being and happiness negatively affected by the ‘stuff’ they keep in their homes. This study presents a critical and reflective enquiry into the relationship between stuff and housing design. By better understanding the nature of ‘stuff’ and space in UK houses, they can be better designed. The enquiry uses an explorative and reflective multi-methodological approach combining design research with a sensory ethnography, which is augmented with architectural probes. The findings present a unique graphical exploration of how the design of domestic space has changed overtime and captures the intellectual agenda of the house as a ‘container’ and the household contents, the ‘stuff’, as the ‘contained’. It develops with practising architects innovative housing design solutions focused on storage. The study concludes that the design of homes could better support inhabitants’ quality of life and well-being if space for storage was better understood and considered.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Housing Studies Association Annual Conference
• Start Date: Apr 14, 2021
• End Date: Apr 15, 2021
• Deposit Date: Apr 20, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 21, 2021
• Keywords: housing; storage; material possessions; architecture
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7277903