18. Do internal spaces and layout allow for adaptation, conversion or extension?

A well-designed home will need to take account of changing demands and lifestyles of the future by providing flexible internal layouts and allowing for cost-effective alterations. Housing should be able to respond to changing social, technological and economic conditions.

The main consideration is adaptability. For houses, the design could accommodate a downstairs toilet, wider doorways, level entrances and allow for a lift or stair lift to be fitted in the future. The potential to extend back or upwards, or to open up between rooms to allow open-plan living, is valuable, as is garden space and the space to allow a conservatory to be added.

For houses and apartments, if outside walls carry structural loads this allows for partitions to be added or removed inside to suit the owner’s needs. And if rooms are big enough to allow them to be used in a variety of ways, for example, as a work space, study, bedroom or playroom, this adds flexibility.

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