Home Alone: Investigating the one-person household typology

Abstract

The one person household is the most common way to live in Gothenburg today, making up 42% of all homes. This group of dwellers is overlooked, since both the existing housing stock as well as the new production derives from the outdated norm of the nuclear family. Alternative solutions often suggest either co-housing and new ways of residing together or minimum space short term solutions, but the numbers say it all - many urbanites spend parts of their adult lives dwelling alone. This thesis aims to investigate design for the one person household in an urban setting, without assuming that the solitude is unintended. The method has been to map the user group through statistical research, to contemplate how a new user group changes the preconditions of housing design and to understand the social bonds in a building through literary studies and previous case studies. Entering the design process, the site was analysed in regards of history, urban context, character and public space. The result is a suggestion for a housing at the site of Kapellplatsen in central Gothenburg. Discoveries regarding the lone dweller are shown in the organisation of the building and the plan layout, while the preconditions of the site inform the materiality and structure. The relationship between the living situation of the dweller, the private and communal space and the urban situation, and how these are connected to spatial and architectural qualities are the central themes. The discussion will hopefully regard positive and problematic aspects of living alone and how the range of solutions might be broadened. The thesis should inspire further discussion and research of the role of the seemingly overlooked sole dwellers in our cities.