Today is World Architecture Day, with this year’s theme being “Housing for All.” Below, we have thoughts from leading architects on the responsibilities of the industry
World Architecture Day was established in 1985 by the International Union of Architects, designed to raise awareness both around issues within architecture and to celebrate and progress the profession’s role in creating a fairer society.
The key messages in 2026’s celebration include:
- The housing crisis: One of the most pressing challenges facing cities and communities worldwide
- Housing is a right, not a luxury: Access to adequate housing must be recognised as a fundamental right. Architecture contributes to making this right a reality
- The architects’ role: Architects are called to engage beyond design practice, contributing to discussions on housing policy, affordability, and equitable access to the built environment
- Towards concrete solutions: Addressing the housing crisis requires practical, sustainable and context-responsive approaches, including the development of inclusive housing models and the reuse of existing building stock
Below, we have thoughts from Michael Harty of ALTU architects, Oliver Roberts of Anotherkind Architects, Simon Chung of Sow Space, and Tim Boxford of Maber, on today’s hot topics.
World Architecture Day: Can inclusive housing become mainstream?
As World Architecture Day declares that ‘Housing is a Human Right. Build It.’, architects discuss why inclusive design needs to become part of ordinary housing and outline the barriers that remain.
“Too often, volume house building caters for what the market sees as the average person; there is no such thing.”
For Maber Architects, that assumption gets to the heart of the challenge. Housing is expected to serve people across different ages, abilities and stages of life, yet most mainstream housing is still conceived around a relatively narrow idea of who will occupy it.
The question is particularly pertinent this year. The International Union of Architects is calling on the profession to advance equitable access to housing through design, research and advocacy, including by developing more inclusive housing models.
Designing beyond the ‘average’ resident
Everyone knows there’s a pressure to build more houses. While attention is often focused on the number being built, inclusive design raises the question of the kind of homes being built and who they are expected to serve.
The latest English Housing Survey shows that 37% of households contain someone with a long-term illness or disability, up from 34% five years earlier. That doesn’t directly translate into demand for accessible housing, but it does show how far the population has moved away from the idea of a single ‘average’ resident.
Joe Player, director at Anotherkind Architects, puts it plainly: “Inclusive housing should not feel different or specialised. The best examples are often those where thoughtful design benefits everyone, creating homes that are comfortable, intuitive and welcoming regardless of age, mobility or circumstance.”
Inclusive design spans a broad range of considerations, from physical access and adaptable layouts to thermal comfort, running costs, and how well a home can accommodate changes in its occupants’ lives.
At Altu Architects, associate director Michael Harty argues that apartments should increasingly be treated as homes for life. The practice is applying that thinking at Cromcastle, a 146-apartment development that includes 52 Universal Design apartments.
“Rather than having one specification for UD apartments and another for the remainder, we have applied many of the same principles throughout the development,” Michael says.
That approach includes easy-to-operate fittings intended to look and feel like ordinary residential products, while entrances to the Universal Design apartments are colour-coded to aid visual recognition.
Michael also suggests the significance lies as much in these smaller interactions. “It is not simply about making spaces bigger; it is about understanding how people use their homes and removing barriers wherever we can.”
Sow Space is doing similar work linking inclusive design to thermal comfort, the materials being used and the cost of occupying a home.
“We put this into practice by designing ultra-low-energy housing with passive low-tech solutions for year-round thermal comfort and low running costs,” Sow Space director and architect Simon Chung says. “We prioritise access to natural light and outdoor space while specifying natural materials with low VOCs to support long-term well-being.”
In a housing crisis, the broad definition of inclusion can have consequences. A home can be physically accessible yet still hard to live in if it is expensive to run or cannot adapt to changing circumstances.
Barriers to making inclusion mainstream
In England, M4(1), ‘visitable dwellings’, remains the national minimum under Part M, while the higher M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard and M4(3) wheelchair-user standard can be required through local planning policy. The recent National Planning Policy Framework now says development plans should ensure that at least 40% of homes on major developments meet M4(2).
Habinteg Housing Association welcomed the introduction of a national requirement for accessible housing but argued that 40% does not go far enough. It calls for M4(2) to become the minimum standard for all new homes.
Regulation, however, is only one part of the picture.
The challenge can begin even earlier, within the brief itself. “Often clients are nervous about breaking from the market norms. It is our duty to demonstrate that novel solutions can deliver inclusivity and sustainability without compromising on viability,” said Tim Boxford, executive director at Maber.
Anotherkind’s Joe Player argues that housing is too often designed around immediate rather than long-term needs. Designing for adaptability from the outset, he argues, can reduce the need for costly alterations later.
Sow Space’s Simon Chung asks whether a supposedly inclusive home remains viable to build and maintain. “Architects can help overcome access barriers by designing practical, affordable homes that remain accessible to build and, crucially, to maintain. Adaptability is key when designing in a world of constant change and climate chaos.”
The profession is being pushed to question assumptions about who a scheme is for, bringing different users into the design conversation and demonstrating that inclusive does not necessarily require a separate architectural language.
Testing assumptions before breaking ground
Digital tools are becoming part of that process because they let teams test assumptions before building.
All four practices use Graphisoft software, with Maber combining BIM with virtual and augmented reality to interrogate proposals from different users’ perspectives. “For example, we can use our VR system to simulate how a space appears to someone with colour blindness or other visual impairments. Being able to appreciate that not everyone perceives space in the same way is key to good inclusive design,” explained Tim.
At Cromcastle, Altu is using Archicad to design and co-ordinate 146 apartments. Michael says the digital model lets the practice test layouts and different user requirements while applying successful design principles consistently across the project.
Sow Space is using 3D visualisation to help clients and stakeholders engage with designs, while thermal modelling allows comfort and running costs to be examined before construction. The value lies in the ability to ask more questions of a proposal before construction fixes the answer.
Joe describes the shift: “Digital tools are helping architects move from designing for assumed users to designing for real experiences.”
Digital tools can test a wider range of needs before construction, but the harder question is whether those needs are written into the brief in the first place.
If inclusive housing is to become mainstream, homes need to accommodate change and work for a wider range of people. As Maber says, there is no average resident. The question is whether the housing being built reflects that reality.
