Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026

Adaptable housing

An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about adaptable housing

Project • By HAMTASAZANPrivate Houses

Reframed Horizon Villa

Rather than starting from a blank site, this project began with a partially constructed reinforced-concrete frame that had been abandoned during construction. The existing structural system, together with an already-built swimming pool, established fixed conditions that could not be altered, transforming the project into an architectural exercise in adaptation rather than replacement. The greatest challenge was working within the limitations of a narrow structural footprint while fulfilling the client's request for a spacious contemporary family villa. The upper floor was required to accommodate three bedrooms despite the restricted width of the existing frame. Instead of modifying the primary structure, a carefully integrated one-meter ca... More

Project • By De Rungs ArquitectosApartments

Casa Hugo

Rather than demolishing and rebuilding from scratch, Casa Hugo takes a strategic approach, extending the lifespan of a 1950s building and adapting it to modern living. Through structural, functional, and urban interventions, the project shows how architecture can effectively regenerate the immediate context and create local value. Ariadna Polo Located in the Anzures neighborhood, the original structure featured ground-floor columns and load-bearing walls from the first to third floors. One of the main challenges was preserving this configuration while removing all non-load-bearing walls and elements to redistribute the spaces. A new central column was designed to redistribute the loads and ensure at least 50 additional years of use. T... More

Project • By STAR strategies + architectureHousing

START-Ivry

Rethinking housing from the inside out: a new generation of social and private housing, where the dwelling adapts to its inhabitants – and not the other way around. START-Ivry sets out to redefine housing culture. It rejects the prevailing standardisation of housing production and responds to the growing diversity of contemporary lifestyles. It rethinks housing from the inside — starting from the resident — restoring the central role of the floor plan, and boldly reversing the conventional process by starting with architecture: the architect is selected first, and developers are then invited to compete. START embodies a genuine paradigm shift.   START stands for Social, Transformable, Affordable and Resilient Typol... More