Valuing deliberate built-in flexibility in houses – exampled
Abstract
People’s Housing requirements commonly transition over time, and there are financial, social and environmental impacts associated with altering and moving houses. With possible future alteration in mind, this paper looks at the viability of deliberately incorporating flexibility into houses at the time they are designed and built, as compared with no specifically incorporated flexibility (yet still possibly capable of being altered). A comparative analysis, rather than an absolute analysis, is outlined. The financial viability is performed as an options analysis, while the social and environmental matters are evaluated along life cycle assessment lines. As a case example, the paper considers the viability of incorporating deliberate two-storey flexibility into a single-storey house using Australian practices. It is shown on the case example that incorporating deliberate built-in flexibility can perform positively against all sustainability criteria – financial, social and environmental, separately or combined – however the generality of this conclusion remains to be proven.
Keyword : changeable houses, deliberate built-in flexibility, options analysis, valuation, flexibility
How to Cite
Carmichael, D. G., & Taheriattar, R. (2018). Valuing deliberate built-in flexibility in houses – exampled. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 22(6), 479-488. https://doi.org/10.3846/ijspm.2018.6273
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Guma, A. C. (2008). A real options analysis of a vertically expandable real estate development (Masters thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Heath, T. (2001). Adaptive reuse of offices for residential use. Cities, 18(3), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-2751(01)00009-9
Hong, T., Ji, C., Jang, M., & Park, H. (2014). Assessment model for energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during building construction. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(2), 226-235. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000199
ISO (2006). ISO 14040:2006 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment: Principles and Framework, ISO 14044:2006 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines. International Organization for Standardization ISO, Geneva.
Karol, E. (2007). Inclusive design and the new home market: the West Australian situation. Architectural Science Review, 51(1), 80-83. https://doi.org/10.3763/asre.2008.5111
Kats, G., Alevantis, L., Berman, A., Mills, E., & Perlman, J. (2003). The costs and financial benefits of green buildings. Sustainable Building Task Force, Sacramento, California.
Kendall, S. (1999). Open building: an approach to sustainable architecture. Journal of Urban Technology, 6(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630739983551
Langston, C. (2011, January). On archetypes and building adaptive reuse. 17th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES) Conference (12 p.). Pacific Rim Real Estate Society, Gold Coast, Queensland.
Langston, C. (2013). The role of coordinate-based decision making in the evaluation of sustainable built environments. Construction Management and Economics, 31, 62-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2012.738920
Langston, C., Wong, F. K. W., Hui, E. C. M., & Shen, L. Y. (2008). Strategic assessment of building adaptive reuse opportunities in Hong Kong. Building and Environment, 43(10), 1709-1718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.10.017
Langston, C., Yung, E. H.-K., & Chan, E. H.-W. (2013). The application of ARP modelling to adaptive reuse projects in Hong Kong. Habitat International, 40, 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.05.002
Lehmann, A., Zschieschang, E., Traverso, M., Finkbeiner, M., & Schebek, L. (2013). Social aspects for sustainability assessment of technologies – challenges for social life cycle assessment (SLCA). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 18(8), 1581-1592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-013-0594-0
Moffatt, S., & Russell, P. (2001). Assessing the adaptability of buildings, IEA Annex 31: Energy-related environmental impact of buildings. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Ottawa.
Moon, H., Hyun, C., & Hong, T. (2014). Prediction model of emission for residential buildings in South Korea. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000228
NCSU. (2013). Universal design: housing for the lifespan of all people. Centre for Universal Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Palmer, J., & Ward, S. (2013). Housing of the future: the liveable and adaptable house. Retrieved from http://www.yourhome.gov.au/housing/livable-and-adaptable-house
Rawlinsons, W. A. (2015). Australian construction handbook (33rd ed.). Rawlinsons, Perth, Western Australia.
Reardon, C. (2013). Lightweight framing. Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/lightweight-framing
Remøy, H., de Jong, P., & Schenk, W. (2011). Adaptable office buildings. Property Management, 29(5), 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1108/02637471111178128
RSMeans. (2015). RSMeans building construction cost data. RSMeans Construction Publishers and Consultants, Norwell, Massachusetts.
Sawacha, E., Naoum, S., & Fong, D. (1999). Factors affecting safety performance on construction sites. International Journal of Project Management, 17(5), 309-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00042-8
Schneider, T., & Till, J. (2005). Flexible housing opportunities and limits, Theory, 9(2), 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135505000199
Slaughter, E. S. (2001). Design strategies to increase building flexibility. Building Research and Information, 29(3), 208-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613210010027693
Surbeck, C. Q., & Hilger, H. (2014, 1-5 June). Social sustainability and important indicators in infrastructure. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (pp. 2078-2093). Portland, Oregon. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413548.208
Till, J., & Schneider, T. (2005). Flexible housing the means to the end, Theory, 9(3), 287-296. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135505000345
UNEP/SETAC. (2009). Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products. United Nations Environment Programme / Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Gent. Retrieved from www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/dtix1164xpa-guidelines_slca.pdf
Wilkinson, S. J. (2011). The relationship between building adaptation and property attributes (PhD thesis). Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria.
Wilkinson, S. J., James, K., & Reed, R. (2009). Using building adaptation to deliver sustainability in Australia. Structural Survey, 27(1), 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630800910941683
Zhang, N. (2010). Applying option thinking in long term infrastructure investment: the case of commercial real estate (Masters thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
ABS. (2012). 1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2012 – Housing and life cycle stages. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features30Dec+2010
Arge, K. (2005). Adaptable office buildings: theory and practice. Facilities, 23(3/4), 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770510578494
AS1885.1. (1990). Worksafe Australia National Standard: Workplace Injury and Disease Recording Standard. Standards Association of Australia, Sydney.
Bengtsson, J., Howard, N., & Kneppers, B. (2010). Weighting of environmental impacts in Australia. The Building Products Innovation Council (BPIC), Sydney.
Benoît, C., Norris, G. A., Valdivia, S., Ciroth, A., Moberg, A., Bos, U., Prakash, S., Ugaya, C., & Beck, T. (2010). The guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products: just in time!. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 15(2), 156-163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-009-0147-8
BSI. (2009). Code of practice for noise and vibration control on construction and open sites, Part 1: Noise. British Standards, BS 5228-1, UK.
Carmichael, D. G. (2006). Project planning, and control. London: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203640166
Carmichael, D. G. (2013). Problem solving for engineers. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b14955
Carmichael, D. G. (2014). Infrastructure investment – an engineering perspective. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17654
Carmichael, D. G. (2015). Incorporating resilience through adaptability and flexibility. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 32(1-2), 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286608.2015.1016921
Carmichael, D. G. (2016a). A cash flow view of real options. The Engineering Economist, 61(4), 265-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013791X.2016.1157661
Carmichael, D. G. (2016b). Risk – a commentary. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, 33(3), 177-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286608.2016.1202932
Carmichael, D. G., & Balatbat, M. C. A. (2008). Probabilistic DCF analysis and capital budgeting and investment – a survey. The Engineering Economist, 53(1), 84-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00137910701864809
Carmichael, D. G., Hersh, A. M., & Parasu, P. (2011). Real options estimate using probabilistic present worth analysis. The Engineering Economist, 56(4), 295-320.
Conejos, S. (2013). Optimisation of future building adaptive reuse design criteria for urban sustainability. Journal of Design Research, 11(3), 225-242. https://doi.org/10.1504/JDR.2013.056589
Cordell. (2014). Cordell housing building cost guide, 44, 3. Cordell, Sydney.
de Jonge, T. (2005). Cost effectiveness of sustainable housing investments (PhD Thesis). Delft University of Technology,Delft, the Netherlands. Retrieved from https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A161e8d60-14f3-4f94-b05f-c11d9a1fee0f?collection=research
de Neufville, R., & Scholtes, S. (2011). Flexibility in engineering design. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Edwards, B., & Turrent, D. (2000). Sustainable housing: principles and practice. London: Taylor & Francis.
Fänge, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2005). Changes in ADL dependence and aspects of usability following housing adaptation: a longitudinal perspective. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(3), 296-304. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.59.3.296
Friedman, A. (1993). A decision-making process for choice of a flexible internal partition option in multi-unit housing using decision theory techniques: Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1229-3_14
Gann, D. M., & Barlow, J. (1996). Flexibility in building use: the technical feasibility of converting redundant offices into flats. Construction Management and Economics, 14(1), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446199600000007
Gilchrist, A., & Allouche, E. N. (2005). Quantification of social costs associated with construction projects: state-of-the-art review. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 20(1), 89-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2004.04.003
Gosling, J., Sassi, P., Naim, M., & Lark, R. (2013). Adaptable buildings: a systems approach. Sustainable Cities and Society, 7, 44-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2012.11.002
Greden, L. V. (2005). Flexibility in building design: a real options approach and valuation methodology to address risk (PhD thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Guma, A. C. (2008). A real options analysis of a vertically expandable real estate development (Masters thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Heath, T. (2001). Adaptive reuse of offices for residential use. Cities, 18(3), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-2751(01)00009-9
Hong, T., Ji, C., Jang, M., & Park, H. (2014). Assessment model for energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during building construction. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(2), 226-235. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000199
ISO (2006). ISO 14040:2006 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment: Principles and Framework, ISO 14044:2006 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines. International Organization for Standardization ISO, Geneva.
Karol, E. (2007). Inclusive design and the new home market: the West Australian situation. Architectural Science Review, 51(1), 80-83. https://doi.org/10.3763/asre.2008.5111
Kats, G., Alevantis, L., Berman, A., Mills, E., & Perlman, J. (2003). The costs and financial benefits of green buildings. Sustainable Building Task Force, Sacramento, California.
Kendall, S. (1999). Open building: an approach to sustainable architecture. Journal of Urban Technology, 6(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630739983551
Langston, C. (2011, January). On archetypes and building adaptive reuse. 17th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES) Conference (12 p.). Pacific Rim Real Estate Society, Gold Coast, Queensland.
Langston, C. (2013). The role of coordinate-based decision making in the evaluation of sustainable built environments. Construction Management and Economics, 31, 62-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2012.738920
Langston, C., Wong, F. K. W., Hui, E. C. M., & Shen, L. Y. (2008). Strategic assessment of building adaptive reuse opportunities in Hong Kong. Building and Environment, 43(10), 1709-1718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.10.017
Langston, C., Yung, E. H.-K., & Chan, E. H.-W. (2013). The application of ARP modelling to adaptive reuse projects in Hong Kong. Habitat International, 40, 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.05.002
Lehmann, A., Zschieschang, E., Traverso, M., Finkbeiner, M., & Schebek, L. (2013). Social aspects for sustainability assessment of technologies – challenges for social life cycle assessment (SLCA). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 18(8), 1581-1592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-013-0594-0
Moffatt, S., & Russell, P. (2001). Assessing the adaptability of buildings, IEA Annex 31: Energy-related environmental impact of buildings. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Ottawa.
Moon, H., Hyun, C., & Hong, T. (2014). Prediction model of emission for residential buildings in South Korea. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000228
NCSU. (2013). Universal design: housing for the lifespan of all people. Centre for Universal Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Palmer, J., & Ward, S. (2013). Housing of the future: the liveable and adaptable house. Retrieved from http://www.yourhome.gov.au/housing/livable-and-adaptable-house
Rawlinsons, W. A. (2015). Australian construction handbook (33rd ed.). Rawlinsons, Perth, Western Australia.
Reardon, C. (2013). Lightweight framing. Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/lightweight-framing
Remøy, H., de Jong, P., & Schenk, W. (2011). Adaptable office buildings. Property Management, 29(5), 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1108/02637471111178128
RSMeans. (2015). RSMeans building construction cost data. RSMeans Construction Publishers and Consultants, Norwell, Massachusetts.
Sawacha, E., Naoum, S., & Fong, D. (1999). Factors affecting safety performance on construction sites. International Journal of Project Management, 17(5), 309-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00042-8
Schneider, T., & Till, J. (2005). Flexible housing opportunities and limits, Theory, 9(2), 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135505000199
Slaughter, E. S. (2001). Design strategies to increase building flexibility. Building Research and Information, 29(3), 208-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613210010027693
Surbeck, C. Q., & Hilger, H. (2014, 1-5 June). Social sustainability and important indicators in infrastructure. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (pp. 2078-2093). Portland, Oregon. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413548.208
Till, J., & Schneider, T. (2005). Flexible housing the means to the end, Theory, 9(3), 287-296. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135505000345
UNEP/SETAC. (2009). Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products. United Nations Environment Programme / Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Gent. Retrieved from www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/dtix1164xpa-guidelines_slca.pdf
Wilkinson, S. J. (2011). The relationship between building adaptation and property attributes (PhD thesis). Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria.
Wilkinson, S. J., James, K., & Reed, R. (2009). Using building adaptation to deliver sustainability in Australia. Structural Survey, 27(1), 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630800910941683
Zhang, N. (2010). Applying option thinking in long term infrastructure investment: the case of commercial real estate (Masters thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.