Utvecklingen av boendemiljöns utformning : En kvalitativ studie ur två perspektiv – ett dåtida som innefattar utvecklingen från 1850 fram till idag och ett nutida som beaktar inverkan av Covid-19.

Housing is an important role in society as people spend large parts of their lives there. A home is a place that must contain all essential living functions but also be constantly adapted to new needs that arise. This has led to, that Sweden since industrialization in the 1850s, has gone through several different changes that have affected housing design. This has resulted in that residential architecture today is being categorized as different eras. In many cases, it is not an individual event that has driven this change, but rather a series of events that have gained great significance in interaction. With constant societal changes and changing lifestyles that, for example, the outbreak of Covid-19 has brought, demands are also placed on homes to follow societal developments and adapt to these new needs. The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper insight into the connection between housing design and human life needs to be able to understand how housing design can be adapted to major societal changes that create new needs. To achieve the purpose and answer the research questions, a literature study was conducted on the characteristic eras of housing design from 1850 until today. In addition to the literature study, four interviews were also conducted with different architects who have solid experience in housing design to create a deeper understanding of the connection between living needs and housing architecture. The study's more important conclusions are that human living needs have always been the driving force to create a change in the living environment. The changes that have taken place over the years have aimed to improve the housing situation for society as a whole and constantly improve something that has been shown to be deficient in previous housing design. However, the results have been variable as some parts of the living environment have improved while others have been poorly designed. It is based on the fact that too much focus has been on solving a specific problem, which has led to the whole aspect of the living environment has been forgotten. The study has also found that the societal change that Covid-19 brought has led to an increase in time spent at home as well as working from home. This has persisted even after the pandemic to a greater extent than before, which has resulted in that the demand for a workplace at home has increased. As a result, qualities such as envelopment and seclusion have also become more important in parallel with social surfaces and proximity to nature. This is the result of people spending more time at home today, which has created new needs for both functions and qualities