The Walls Talk Back: Fostering a Dialogue Between Architecture and Its Inhabitants Within Multi-Family Housing

Inhabitants and their use of space within the home is in constant flux, changing temporally in relation to dynamic factors such as an individual's age, a household's size, daily needs and activities, the time of day, and weather conditions. Contemporary multi-family housing projects in Toronto are not designed to support these changes as units are often too small and are segmented into rooms with fixed uses, contributing to inhabitant dissatisfaction. In this thesis, the question of adaptability was explored to promote wellbeing and improved space usage. Research began with literature reviews and case study analyses which established design parameters specific to adaptability in multi-family housing. A project sited within Toronto was developed as a critique of contemporary design methods. This thesis reimagined the role of walls as a way of initiating continuous dialogue between inhabitants and architecture in the design of spaces that satisfy each individual's needs over time.