Why is adaptable housing not mainstream?: Perspectives of different stakeholders in Finland

Abstract

In housing, ‘adaptability’ denotes the capacity of the dwelling to accommodate residents’ changing needs. Adaptable housing was first put forward in the early 20th century and has been debated ever since. Recently, adaptability has also been recognised as a focal contributor to buildings’ sustainability and circular economy. Nevertheless, adaptable housing is rarely built. This paper studies what hinders the mainstreaming of adaptable housing in Finland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with professional stakeholder groups involved in developing, financing, regulating, inspecting, and designing housing. The interviews were construed around five adaptability concepts that have sporadically been built in Finland. The specific barriers and preconditions to implementing each concept were found to vary. However, the fact that in general, developers do not find it meaningful to incorporate adaptability in their projects would appear to form the main barrier. Contrary to previous research, the results of this study challenge the idea that additional costs allegedly incurred by adaptability would necessarily play a major role.