Balcony Terror - Balconies’ Perspective on Affordable Housing Solutions

Project Brief:
This project was developed as part of the ERASMUS+ BIP workshop “Housing Solutions in the 21st Century Cities: Facing the affordable housing crisis” held from November 11–15, 2024 at ISCTE. The focus was on finding practical and affordable solutions for housing challenges in the outskirts of Lisbon, specifically Odivelas, where average incomes are lower compared to central Lisbon and Portugal overall, making housing increasingly unaffordable.

Design Process:
Our design was inspired by the observation that balconies act as a reflection of what is lacking inside the apartments — spaces that residents need but cannot accommodate indoors. Through detailed analysis of existing balconies and how people used them, we discovered balconies functioned as extensions of living space for various needs such as pets, plants, drying laundry, or storage. This insight guided the creation of a modular balcony system that offers flexible, personalizable outdoor space to compensate for the shortage of indoor area.

Our Proposal:
We introduced a modular, external balcony structure that can be freely customized by residents. This addition provides valuable extra living space — an “extra-area device” — that does not count as taxable interior space since it is an outdoor extension. This way, residents gain usable surface area without facing increased housing taxes or costs.

The balconies are designed as lightweight, prefabricated modules that can be attached seamlessly to existing buildings. Their dimensions are based on the building’s structural grid, ensuring stability and uniformity, while allowing residents to personalize the layout.

Benefits:

-Adds functional outdoor living space that enhances quality of life

-Provides a platform for individual expression, fostering identity and community

-Improves building aesthetics and urban dynamics through diverse balcony configurations

-Supports flood risk reduction by elevating living areas (buildings lifted on pilotis)

-Integrates flexibly with high-density urban fabric of Odivelas and greater Lisbon

This proposal demonstrates how thoughtful architectural interventions can address affordability and livability challenges in suburban contexts by creating adaptable, cost-effective spaces that enrich residents’ daily experience.