There is an obvious gap between the number of houses available and the number of people who need housing. This is true in almost every country around the world, there is always a need to house the homeless. To bridge this gap and provide a home to these underprivileged people, many governments and non-profit organizations construct social housing. Though there are a few social housing buildings that do the needful and do not have any aesthetic appeal to them, there are many other social houses that make the user feel proud about living there. Here are a few examples from around the world.
1. Think Tank, India by RMA Architects
The think tank is an alternative health center that has eight living centers. The structure is built to harness the breeze and has an epitome of cross ventilation. The double roof and concerns of the building weathering gracefully with minimal maintenance in the tropical climate of Goa.
2. Social Housing in Shangan Avenue, Ireland by FKL architects
The building was designed to blend with the various conditions of the site and the brief. This was done to provide a coherent and integrated design that embeds itself into the existing and emerging context.
3. Grand Synthe – Palace Du Courghain, France by Philippe Dubus Architecture
This has 57 housing units. The facade gives an urban feeling to a suburban area. The building, though made in a small budget, is classified as a low-energy consumer. This helps the users immediately feel at home.
4. Social Complex in Alcabideche, Portugal by Guedes Cruz Arquitectos
This beautifully designed social complex is made of high-quality materials and well-designed landscaping which aims to bridge the gap between the need for housing and the homeless elderly.
5. La Fontenette Social Housing, Switzerland by Furndgallina
This houses 120 apartments. This has many green areas, which prove to ben inconclusive and responsive to a shortage of low-rent housing. Developed from three concentric structural rings, each floor receives different typologies of apartments, from one to five rooms.
6. SOS Children’s Village, Djibouti by Urko Sanchez Architects
The city suffers persistent droughts and severe scarcities, so this residential complex was designed to house 15 houses where to run their family-strengthening programs. The concept revolved around the traditional housing referencing the cultural and climatic environment.
7. Boston Road, United States by Alexander Gorlin Architects
This well-designed housing provides 154 units of housing for formerly homeless people. The building’s layout is specifically designed to have public, semi-public, and private spaces. There are even multi-purpose rooms to accommodate social services and tenant meetings.
8. Longnan Garden Social Housing Estate, China
With extensive study and research, these housings were made to meet the requirement of the growing population for years to home. This thoughtfully designed building carefully takes into consideration the impact of residential height, density of living comfort, and the need for greenery.
9. Apartments on Ave.Marechal Fayolle, France by SANAA
There are 4 housing volumes weave past each other creating a sequence of courtyards that connect the city and landscape, bringing a series of interstitial gardens to the heart of the site. The architect uses organic forms and curved facades to provide apartments with multiple orientations for natural light, ventilation, and views.
10. Garden Cooperativa, Italy by Guiseppe Gurrieri and Nunzio Gabriele Sciveres
The architectural program of the building cooperative foresees the realization of sixteen residences within a plan of social housing in Marina di Ragusa in Sicily. The project origins from the analysis of the Sicilian natural and urban landscape, a land full of great contradictions: a beautiful and complex place, which lies in between cultural heritage and traditions, conservation and transformation, architectural experimentation, and conventional living.
