Homeowners Reasons for Spatial Design Modification of Terrace Housing Concepts

Abstract

In the past four decades Malaysia has witnessed a rapid construction of terrace housing development all over the country and the terraced houses are typical concept of mass housing initiative, mainly developed either by the government or private developers in the country, in order to meet the ever increasing demand for housing. The common spatial characteristics of newly built terraced houses in Malaysia have not changed much, featuring repetitive and monotonous designs. Homeowners tent to modify their homes in order to meet their changing needs. Modifications are primarily aimed at providing better quality of life for the homeowners and improve the functional aspect of the house. This paper identifies the influential factors or reasons behind spatial home modification, which contribute immensely in enhancing comfort level and quality of life. Data were
obtained from a purposive sample of 195 FKAAS Staffs living in more than 20 different housing estate developed by different housing developers. Descriptive analyses were applied to the data. The findings of the study indicate that the 105(83%) of the 128 FKAAS staff in UTHM Batu Pahat, Malaysia agree to have carried out modification to improve comfort level, improve dedicated space, increase in the need for storage space and enhance security features in their homes. From this finding it indicates that designers and developers tend to focus in the provision of the immediate needs of the households freezing out time in pursuit of static idealized object of perfection.