Establishing the role of PLAY within the houses of apartment buildings

As urban areas experience increased population clustering, the demand for effective and efficient housing solutions becomes paramount. Apartment Houses, comprising individual dwelling units within multi-story residential buildings, serve as vital connectors between occupants and their urban surroundings. Apartments are characterised by their ability to leverage higher population densities, granting residents convenient access to amenities, services, and a dynamic urban lifestyle. However, the ability of Apartment Houses to meet the evolving needs of their occupants is uncertain. A crucial aspect to consider is the evaluation of Apartment Houses’ ability to support diverse forms of domestic occupation among the inhabitants, including scenarios like remote work in post-COVID-19 conditions and the accommodation of extended family members. With the continuous evolution of social relationships in cities, whether Apartment Houses can effectively adapt to these changes becomes crucial. The ability of Apartment Houses to effectively accommodate the dynamic changes in household composition, living patterns, occupants’ roles, lifestyles, and life cycles is identified in the research as PLAY. The research utilises Planar Analysis and quantitative measures of the spatial configuration of Space Syntax, an analytical method to evaluate the implementation of PLAY in Apartment Houses. The findings of this study reveal the extent of PLAY within existing Apartment Houses and the potential for future Apartment Houses to be designed to incorporate the qualities of PLAY.