AFFORDABLE MOSAIC HOUSING: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PRESENT LOW-COST HOUSING PARADIGM

The very term 'low-cost housing' assumes that the challenge is to find innovative ways to reduce the cost of building houses and in doing so, making it affordable for every family to own one, regardless of their income level. The problem is seen primarily with an engineering solution - of how to mass produce houses as low-cost as possible. In this paper, the problem is seen through another perspective: a social standpoint. From this point of view, it becomes obvious that placement and concentrating families of the poor - those financially and socially stressed - in one location, does not make much sense. The higher the concentration of people in these low-cost housing areas, the more unmanageable the social problems become. The Affordable Mosaic Housing concept is an alternative to the present low-cost housing paradigm. This model of cluster houses and clustered neighbourhoods aims to produce better social, environmental and aesthetic environments, by using land more efficiently, with fewer roads.