When meeting someone for the first time we ask general formalities such as their names, but one of the most prevalent questions we are ask is ‘where are you from?’ and ‘where do you live?’ Environmental psychologist Susan Clayton states that for many people their home is part of their self-definition. She explains that the reason we do things like decorate our houses or mow our lawns is because we see our home as an extension of ourselves in the public eye and therefore whether you realise it or not, your home is a reflection of your priorities.
In many ways, the ideas put forward by Clayton seem to make a lot of sense; however, recent comments from top figures within the architecture industry would perhaps portray these sentiments as somewhat unrealistic in today’s society. Patrick Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects wrote a paper stating how young people today prioritise location over size when it comes to selecting a living space in order to eliminate a lengthy commute from their busy lives. Buy Association talks of how recent statistics show property sizes are now on average 32% smaller than they were in the 1970s, but for Schumacher this is not enough. Government guidance states that the minimum floor area for a new home must be 37 square meters, but Schumacher asserts that young professionals would be willing to sacrifice the minimum requirement for space if it meant a little bit less of their income has to go on rent, whilst still being able to maintain their central location for early morning meetings or after-work networking events.
The certain iconic Hollywood phrase goes ‘there’s no place like home’, but it seems that in today’s society we are moving away from this with property prices soaring and the idea of buying a house, particularly for generations such as millennials, seeming to be more and more of an insurmountable task. Is what Schumacher says correct? Are we giving up on the idea of a home in favour of having proximity to the workplace?
The points that Schumacher makes in his paper are particularly relevant when looking at somewhere such as London. It is no secret that the cost of living in London is expensive but in today’s market with so many opportunities outside of the capital we have to ask ourselves, is it really worth it? With other cities within the UK offering strong job opportunities as well as a thriving social scene it seems that we no longer have to confine ourselves to capital, particularly when looking for opportunities within the architecture industry.
Areas such as The Baltic Triangle in Liverpool, which has gone from a cluster of empty warehouses to being named one of the coolest neighbourhoods to live in the UK by The Times in 2017, is the epitome of a young architect’s dream. Filled with restaurants, nightlife and independent businesses, it not only offers a thriving social scene, it also offers countless job opportunities with plans for a £70 million luxury hotel with a rooftop restaurant, the council aiming to turn ten streets nearby into a quarter for innovators and all the new residential buildings such as plans to develop a 145 apartment building near the lively Cains Brewery.
Ultimately, centrality is important and although some of Schumacher’s points may seem controversial, his views on young professionals wanting to remain within the city centre for both their home and work life is accurate in most cases. If we take both London and Liverpool as our examples and compare for renting or buying a home then the results are pretty astounding. According to Numbeo, to rent a one bedroom property on average in central London you would be paying around £1,627.69 per month, but in Liverpool you would only be paying £623.32, that’s almost a £12,000 difference per year! And the picture is not any prettier when we look at buying your own place. The price per square meter to buy a city centre apartment in London comes in at a whopping £12,879.25 whereas in Liverpool it only comes to £3,550.00 which is a huge discrepancy.
So ultimately the decision lies with you. Are you happy to pay between 60 % to over 70% more for a lot less? Do you agree with Patrick Schumacher and think that young professionals don’t really need a lot of home space? Or do you think it is time that we started focusing on making a house (or shoebox sized apartment in many cases) a home again?