How small can a house be?

A study about the minimum necessary net internal area of dwellings that should be established by Portuguese building regulations is presented. The following tasks were carried out: selecting the furniture and equipment necessary for each dwelling; determining the size of furniture and equipment and its typical arrangement; conceiving models of functional spaces; determining the net area of functional spaces and dwellings; and comparing results with statistics on housing construction in Portugal and with mandatory area standards used in Portugal and ten other European countries. The conclusions are that the net internal area presently set by Portuguese building regulations should be increased by 5 to 15%. The net internal area figures obtained by the study are similar to mandatory regulations established by some other European countries.Housing Quality and Process InnovationOTB Research Institut

How small can a dwelling be? A revision of Portugese building regulations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the minimum necessary net internal area of dwellings that should be established by Portuguese building regulations. Design/methodology/approach – The following tasks are carried out: selecting the furniture and equipment necessary for each dwelling; determining the size of furniture and equipment and its typical arrangement; conceiving models of functional spaces; determining the net area of functional spaces and dwellings; comparing results with statistics on housing construction in Portugal and with mandatory area standards used in Portugal and ten other European countries. Findings – The paper finds that the net internal area presently set by Portuguese building regulations should be increased by 5 to 15 percent. The net internal area figure obtained by the study is similar to mandatory regulations established by some other European countries. Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on the net internal area of dwellings, although other space standards are also important to assuring the practicability of dwelling spaces; area standards were set on the basis of the current Portuguese situation and required adaptation when used in different social, cultural and economic contexts; area standards constitute a safety-net against unacceptable dwellings rather than good practice guidelines. Practical implications – The results may be used to support a review of Portuguese building regulations and provide guidelines for the design of dwellings. Originality/value – A methodology to determine area standards is presented and applied. Up-to-date information on furniture size and arrangements is collected. The comparison enables an understanding of how the results compare in a European context.Housing Quality and Process InnovationOTB Research Institut

Área útil do fogo. Revisao das exigências regulamentares

Housing Quality and Process InnovationOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Exigências de espaço aplicáveis à construção de habitação de interesse social: Comparação entre Portugal e o Município de São Paulo

This paper compares the space standards that apply to the construction of social housing in Portugal and in São Paulo, and seeks explanations for the identified differences in the socioeconomic contexts of the territories. The Controlled Cost Housing (CCH) from Portugal and the housing built within the program My Home My Life (MHML) in the São Paulo Municipality for households with incomes below 3 minimum wages are investigated. The space standards for the construction of dwellings in the program MHML are, in the analysed specifications, lower than for CCH. This difference contributes to make the price of housing more adequate to the income of disadvantage households in São Paulo Municipality, which is lower than the income of the same type of households in Portugal. Although social houses are substantially smaller in São Paulo Municipality than in Portugal, the satisfaction level of residents with the size of houses is slightly higher in São Paulo. In conclusion, there are differences in the social housing policy of each territory. Program MHML aims to provide households with incomes below three minimum wages the opportunity to buy a house. In Portugal, housing for households with incomes within this range is assured through renting. The first option requires a substantial non repayable investment of the Federal Government. In order to increase the number of households covered by the program MHML it is natural to minimize the cost of housing, and therefore its area. The second option enables to maintain in the public domain a housing stock, and therefore the priority is the construction of quality housing that ensures appropriate living conditions for dwellers.OTB OnderzoekOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Arquitecturas

produção de habitação para o futuro deverá produzir-se com base em recursos ciclicamente renováveis – em tempo útil para a humanidade – e minimizando a contaminação que torna o nosso habitat insustentável a curto e longo prazo. Para isso será necessário redescobrir uma cultura construtiva “orgânica”OTB Research Institut

Affordable housing in Portugal and Sao Paulo municipality: Comparison of space standards and socio-economic indicators

OTB ResearchOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Social housing in Portugal and in the municipality of São Paulo: Comparison of space standards

This paper compares the space standards for social housing in Portugal and in São Paulo, and seeks explanations for differences in the socio-economic context of both territories. The Controlled Cost Housing (CCH) in Portugal and the housing built within the program My Home My Life (MHML) in São Paulo Municipality are studied. The number and type of rooms, the internal floor area of dwellings, the size of rooms, and the list and size of furniture and equipment are compared. Three research questions are addressed: Which program has more demanding space standards? Which social-economic conditions explain the differences in space standards? How different space standards influence the users' satisfaction? To answer these questions, the study compares socio-economic indicators, space standards and users' satisfaction of both territories. The study has shown that space standards set for the construction of social housing in CCH are more demanding than in MHML program. For instance, a CCH dwelling has almost two times the gross area of a MHML dwelling with the same number of rooms. The differences in space standards contribute to make the price of housing affordable to low income households in São Paulo Municipality. Although social houses are substantially smaller in São Paulo Municipality than in Portugal, the satisfaction level of dwellers with the size of dwellings is higher in São Paulo. We conclude that different political options regarding how to provide housing to low income households directly influence the space standards set for dwellings and therefore their quality.OTB OnderzoekOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Portuguese method for buildings' Condition assessment: Analysis of the first three years of application

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the first three years of application of the Portuguese method to assess buildings condition. This method is a multi-criteria assessment methodology to determine the condition of the building and the presence of basic infrastructure in a fivepoint scale, based on a visual inspection. The method was developed within a new Urban Tenancy Regime (Law n. 6/2006) that allows an extraordinary update of rents for tenancy agreements signed before 1990. The results provided by the method are used to determine the maximum annual rent value, and to summon landlords to carry out repairs if the state of the building falls short of the required standard of maintenance. The analysis intends to find: to what extend the method has been applied, if the results correctly convey the condition of the buildings and the presence of basic infrastructures, if it is necessary to control results of inspections, whether the surveyors have an adequate level of education, and if the instructions provide enough information. To address these questions, opinions of surveyors and Local Committees were collected during a seminar and with survey. From a database the number of assessment processes was collected. The gathered data was analysed and the cause of deficiencies was look for. Finally improvements to the method were suggested. The main results are the following: the number of requests for assessment is below the expectations, the method correctly assesses the buildings condition and the presence of basic infrastructures, it is not necessary to control results of inspections by surveyors, the lack of training courses led to incorrect assessments by some surveyors, and the instructions provide enough information. So far, the implementation of the method has not raised unforeseen situations which would make advisable to introduce changes in the technical aspects of the method. Despite the favourable evaluation, some improvements are suggested to its application procedure.Housing Quality and Process InnovationOTB Research Institut

Building regulations and control in the face of climate change: Overview of the Portuguese situation

This paper presents an analysis of the main initiatives implemented in Portugal aimed at improving the environmental performance of buildings. The study is focused on the building regulatory system. However, to describe its framework a wider context is analysed for the following reasons: a) strategies and plans on environment and energy establish main goals and actions to minimize the production of greenhouse gases and to prepare for the challenges of climate change; b) building regulations and their control system set and enforce mandatory minimum requirements for the building stock; c) voluntary certification and labelling set requirements above regulatory minimums and prove their enforcement; d) incentive programs and tax benefits give financial support to change the characteristics of the building stock; e) training and technical information increase the capacity of professionals, and finally, f) sensitization campaigns raise public awareness among consumers and contribute to changes in their behaviour. The results are that there is a coordinated set of initiatives to improve environmental performance of buildings. These initiatives: change the characteristics of the existing building stock, improve the performance level set for new buildings, and encourage more responsible environmental behaviours. Energy is the resource on which more initiatives were focused. Some initiatives set mandatory command and control regulations but most of them are incentives for voluntary improvements. Despite the many initiatives to improve environmental performance of buildings, their actual implementation and effectiveness must be assessed.OTB ResearchOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Technical building regulations in EU countries: A comparison of their organization and formulation

The purpose of this paper is to compare technical building regulations in European Union (EU) countries. Three research questions are addressed: what are the main differences and similarities? what are the main types of organization and formulation? what are the main trends and developments? The following tasks were carried out in order to provide an answer to these questions: preparing a questionnaire and obtaining answers from experts of EU countries, collecting and analysing main building regulations, and comparing results. The results are that, in the majority of the EU countries, central authorities are involved in setting technical building regulations, however the involvement of regional and local authorities varies. Technical building regulations can be set in one main document, a coordinated group of documents or separated legal documents. The formulation adopted for most subjects is performance based, combined with functional or prescriptive requirements for specific subjects. Only in England and Wales have technical building regulations a pure functional formulation. Few countries have official documents with deemed to satisfy solutions. The building regulations include the main subjects (i.e. safety, health, practicability and energy saving), but several countries have no requirements on environmental protection. In the majority of the EU countries, direct references to specific standards are made, but standards are not accessible free of charge. There is not a pattern in the way that building regulations apply to construction works in existing buildings. The main conclusions drawn from the study were that there are five main types of organization and formulation of technical building regulations in the EU countries, as follows: 1) one document with functional requirements and a coordinated group of documents with deemed to satisfy solutions; 2) one document with performance requirements; 3) one document with prescriptive requirements and new performance regulations on specific subjects; 4) a set of coordinated documents with performance requirements; and, 5) separated legal documents mainly with performance requirements combined with some prescriptive requirements. Although there are exceptions, a regional distribution was observed in the countries that adopt each type.Housing Quality and Process InnovationOTB Research Institut