Developing an optimized strategy achieving design flexibility in small-area units: Case study of Egyptian economic housing

Some countries, especially Egypt, have sought to use small housing units as a solution for housing financial problems. Unfortunately, householders faced various problems with units’ design which obliged them to either leave their units, modify them to meet their needs, or live in their poorly designed units. The current work aims at obtaining an optimized design strategy through applying the “design flexibility” concept on economic housing units. The achieved strategy was investigated on a selected case study in Egypt, namely: Mubarak housing for youth. This strategy led to area optimized utilization. Hence, involving design flexibility makes the units more suitable and affordable for individuals, Fundable for the economy and friendly for the environment (reduce wasted material and energy). Therefore, design flexibility matches the sustainability principles (social, economic and environmental). Keywords: Optimization strategy, Design flexibility, Sustainable design, Housing problems, Economic housin