A comparative study of how housing design governance shapes affordable homes, design quality, and lived experience.
At a glance
- Examines how housing systems, design governance, regulations, socio-cultural norms, standards, and housing markets produce differences in affordable and subsidised homes.
- Compares design governance approaches in England, Chile, China, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, and provides in-depth case studies of housing developments, individual homes, and residents’ lived experiences.
- Undertakes historical research, dimensional, statistical, and visual analysis, home-use studies, interviews, and stakeholder workshops.
- Shares and develops findings through publications, exhibitions, roundtables, and symposia.
- Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, with additional funding from Prosit Philosophiae Foundation; L’Institut Metropolità de Promoció de Sòl i Gestió Patrimonial (AMB:IMPSOL); Royal College of Art (AHRC Impact Acceleration Account, Research Impact Development Scheme) and Manchester School of Architecture (AHEAD).
Key details
Gallery
More information
The challenge
High-quality, affordable housing is central to wellbeing and social equity, yet there is limited agreement on what housing quality means, how it should be measured, or how regulations, standards, and design governance shape the homes people actually inhabit.
The project addresses a gap between architectural design research and wider housing studies by examining how standardised housing types are produced, adapted, and experienced. It asks how policies, building standards, typological preferences, cultural expectations, housing markets, and everyday use influence the design of subsidised housing in different countries, and what lessons this offers for England’s housing challenges.
Our approach
The research combines architectural design research, historical analysis, comparative housing studies, fieldwork, and practitioner engagement. It examines in depth design governance in England and Chile, alongside international comparisons with recently built subsidised housing in China, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. The project analyses housing systems, standards, manuals, acts, dwelling plans, housing types, and individual homes and residents’ experiences through interviews, home-use studies, photographs, models, plans, and 3D scans.
Outputs
Publications
Jacoby, S. & Arancibia, A. (2026). Housing Standardisation and Design Governance. Routledge.
Arancibia, A. (2025). Vivienda asequible. Modelos internationales estandarización del diseño y experiencias cotidianas. Revista AOA, 51, 50–56.
https://issuu.com/aoachile/docs/revista_aoa_n_51
Jacoby, S. & Özer, S. (Eds.). (2024). Housing Norms and Standards: The Design of Everyday Life [special issue], Urban Planning, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.17645/up.i316
Alonso Aranda, L. (2024). The Influence of Space Standards on Housing Typologies: The Evolution of the Nuclear Family Dwelling in England. Urban Planning, 9, Article 7758. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.7758
Arancibia, A. (2024). The Lifestyles of Space Standards: Concepts and Design Problems. Urban Planning, 9, Article 7800. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.7800
Albornoz Marambio, C. (2024) Designing Regulations. On the Symposium “Present and Future of Housing Standards in Chile” ARQ (Santiago), 116, 148-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-69962024000100148
Özer, S. & Jacoby, S. (2023). Space standards in affordable housing in England. Building Research & Information, 52(6), 611–626. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2023.2253337
Exhibition
Housing Standardisation
26 February 2026 to 18 December 2026
The Farrell Centre
Eldon Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RD, United Kingdom
https://www.farrellcentre.org.uk/whats-on/housing-standardisation/
15 April to 20 June 2025
Institut Metropolità de Promoció del Sòl i Gestió Patrimonial
Vestíbul Edifici A, Carrer Número 62, Zona Franca, 08040 Barcelona, Spain
11 February to 30 March 2025
Centre Obert d’Arquitectura, Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya
Plaça Nova 5, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
https://www.arquitectes.cat/ca/arquitectura/exposicio/housing-standardisation
[Housing Standardisation: Who Designs Our Homes and How Do We Live?]
14 November 2024 to 31 January 2025
The Building Centre
26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT, United Kingdom
[Vivienda Asequible: Modelos Internacionales, Estandarización del Diseño y Experiencias Cotidianas]
16–26 October 2024
Galería AOA, Asociación de Oficinas de Arquitectos
Juan de Dios Vial Correa 1351, Santiago de Chile, Chile
https://www.aoa.cl/exposicion-vivienda-asequible/
Symposia
The Future of Housing Standards
15th March 2024
The Barbican, London
https://housingstandardisation.com/systems/symposium-the-future-of-housing-standards
The Present and Future of Housing Standards in Chile
7th November 2023
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago
Roundtables
Housing Standardisation Roundtable at the Farrell Centre, Newcastle, 9 July 2026
https://www.farrellcentre.org.uk/whats-on/housing-standardisation-roundtable/
Life and Death of Housing Types talk at the Farrell Centre, Newcastle, 11 June 2026
Delivering Affordable Housing: Design Quality and Standards talk at the Farrell Centre, Newcastle, 23 April 2026
Housing Standardisation: A Discussion of Catalan Public Housing at the Centre Obert d’Arquitectura, Barcelona, 13th March 2025
Housing Standardisation: A Discussion of Catalan Public Housing at the Centre Obert d’Arquitectura, Barcelona, 25th February 2025
Housing Standardisation Exhibition Finissage at the Building Centre, London, 29th January 2025.
Housing Standardisation Roundtable at the Building Centre, London, 21st January 2025.
Vivienda Asequible Roundtable at the Asociación de Oficinas de Arquitectos, Santiago de Chile, 16th October 2024.
https://www.aoa.cl/exposicion-vivienda-asequible/
Datasets
Housing Standards, Manuals and Acts in England
https://housingstandardisation.com/systems/housing-standards-manuals-and-acts-in-england
Adoption of the Nationally Described Space Standard in England
https://housingstandardisation.com/systems/adoption-of-the-ndss-in-england
Partners
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Architecture Foundation
Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, Chile
AMB:IMPSOL
Peabody Trust
Built Environment Trust / The Building Centre
Asociación de Oficinas de Arquitectos de Chile
Farrell Centre
Manchester School of Architecture
North East England contributors include Blake Hopkinson Architecture + Design, Gentoo Group, IDPartnership, JDDK Architects, Karbon Homes, MawsonKerr Architects, P+HS Architects, and Thirteen Housing Group.
