The impact o f home based work on the l iv ing environment and their implications on house and housing designs in future. Dissertation presented to the faculty of architecture university of Moratuwa for the M.Sc (Arch.) final examination 7 2 . 8 : 3 3 4 - 1 ^ • LIBRARY ^- ADVERSITY OF MORATUWA. SHJ|4l MORATUWA S . N . P . P e r e r a Faculty of architecture university of Moratuwa S r i Lanka June 2001 * *> JUL m hj University of Moratuwa ^ \ D I S S ! R" ; f -TlOM / ^ / 76182 76182 A b s t r a c t Home has become a fundamental necessity o f all human beings. Once a house i s built, they become highly attached to i t and it becomes a part o f their l i fe. In the early days the house was primarily used for dwelling. T h i s situation has changed considerably over the years. Most people conduct Home Based Work ( l - I B W ) / Home Based Economic Activity ( H B E A s ) with in their premises in order to improve their economy. T h i s gives a commercial facade to the house environment and this should be considered as a positive developing phenomenon in the world. T o conduct H B W / H B E A s the occupants have done various changes, modification adaptations to their homes. A s a result, social and spatial conflicts arose. People lost their privacy and security. T h i s situation would become more critical in the future. I f the original home design was flexible it was possible to modify the house without affecting people privacy and security. T h u s it is the responsibility o f the designer to think deeply about the present trend and economic adopt a new design criteria for their houses in the future which would help both activities to function without a conflict. Acknowledgement • I kneel with gratitude before many, who criticized argued, advised, guided & encouraged me throughout in making this a success. • Dr . L . S . R Perera, Senior lecturer, Dept. Architecture, who has been a constant source of inspiration to me in the task of wri t ing this dissertation. • Dr. Ranjith Dayaratne, Senior lecture, Dept. Architecture, for giving me valuable advice & hints during the draft stages to make this a success. • Mr. D.P. Chandrasekara, senior lecturer, Department o f Architecture, for giving me necessary nourishment, advice, guidance & valuable comments. • Dr . S . Manawadu (Year Master) Senior lecturer, Department o f Architecture for h is assistance. • I deeply appreciate the patient guidance & constant assistant offered by Mr. & M r s . Fernando, Mr. Marcus, right through the dissertation. • The assistance rendered by my brother and sister, Chandana, Wathsala, Chamila, Upeksha. • Thanks are also due to the residents o f Ratmalana for providing me with necessary data, discussions & granting permission to photograph their houses. • F ina l ly I am ever grateful to my dear parents for their persistent encouragement and constant guidance. T H E I M P A C T O F H O M E B A S E D W O R K ON T H E L I V I N G E N V I R O N M E N T AND T H E E R I M P L I C A T I O N S ON H O U S E A N D H O U S I N G D E S I G N S I N F U T U R E Acknowledgment Contents L i s t o f i l lustrations Introduction 1-6 Observation Impact Cause Intention o f study L i m i t s Methodology Chapter 1 - Home and informal sector activities in relation to urban situation. 7-20 1.1. Home 7 1.2. The emergence o f industrial urbanism in S r i Lanka 8 1.3 Nature and characteristic o f urban informal sector 10-13 1.3.1. Def ini t ion 10 1.3.2. Characteri sties 12 1.3.3. Different typologies o f informal activities 13 1.4 Home operated enterprises (Home Based Work ) and home 14-20 1.4.1. Background o f H B W 14 1.4.2. Characteristic o f H B W 16 1.4.3 Typology o f H B W in S r i Lanka 18 Chapter 2 -Home based worke in middle income housing 21-38 2.1 Income group and types o f their houses 21 2.2 Main features o f middle income group 25 2.2.1. Subdivisions o f the group 26 2.3 Nature o f H B W in relation to income group 27 2.4 Reason for engaging in H B W 29-30 2.4 .1 . Home based workers 30 2.5. L i v i ng environment and H B W 32-35 2.5.1. New arrivals and trends 33 2.5.2. Values and attitudes o f family \personal l i fe 35 2.6. House as a place o f gaining livelihood 35 Chapter 3 Impact of home based work on the living environment and neighborhood 39-98 environment 3.1 Background to case study 39-44 3 .1 .1 . Objectives o f using case studies. 41 3.1.2. Method o f choosing case studies. 42 3.1.3. Frame work o f analysis 43 3.2.Characteristic o f home enterprise and entrepreneurs. 45-61 3 .2 .1 . Structure o f the organizations 45 3.2.2. Types o f activities and volume 49 3.2.3. Economic background and nature o f working sequence 51 3.2.4. Behavior pattern and social involvement. 53 3.2.5. Findings 56 3.3. The spatial usage for the home based work. 62-90 3 .3 .1 . Identify work pattern and spatial util ization. 63 3.3.2. Relationship between work place and the home environment. 74 3.3.3. Changes and adaptations generate conflicts to the occupants. 76 3.3.4. Impact to the personal l i fe 80 3.3.5.Findings 83 3.4. Impact to the neighbourhood environment. 90-98 3.4.1 .Home based work and community context. 90 3.4.2. Formation and organization o f community due to H B W . 92 3.4.3. H B W influence to create urban settlement patterns. 94 3.4.4. Unresolved factors and H B W 95 3.4.5. Findings 98 Conclusion. 99-101 Bibliography. List of i l lustration Fig. No. Tit le 1. Home is a visible symbol o f a fami ly 's identity. 2. People migrate to cities 3. Very informally arranged home business 4. Front verandah was used for professional services 5. People promote their house to an economic base* . 6. Shop houses -'are used by the high-income category 7. H B W helps to get maximum use of s k i l l and ability 8. Today H B W is a part of l iving activity with in the house. 9. Telecommuting makes H B W easier 10. A food packeting inside a house 11. The H B W has encroached the l iving area 12. People have tried to create workspace within the limited space 13. Room separated by vertical partitioning. 14. Changing of wall material emphasizes the H B W place. 15. Followed in to the family business and carried on. 16. L i v ing space util ized for economic activities. 17. New emerging category not considered domestic environment 18. Women as chief entrepreneurs. 19. L i v ing shifted to the dining area. 20. House converted into small factory 2 1 . close to the entrance 22. H B W activity near the front window 23. L i v ing space acts as an exhibition space 24. The finished garments are sold in the dining room 25. Dining room used as a storeroom 26. Most cases dining tables are used as worktops. 27. Verandah encroached by the-HBW 28. Verandah i s blocked by these temporary structures 29. Whole l iv ing area used for the H B W 30. House extends to the front boundary 3 1 . Flexible use of space 32. Separate area has separate entrance. 33. Separate area for H B W 34. Working place access through the l iving 35. H B W does not disturb the l iving 36. Instant temporary structure used for H B W 37. Unplanned H B W disturb tic neighbourhood 38. The entrance from the road. 39. No proper light and ventilation 40. Separate work space enhances the personal quality 4 1 . Separate workplace near to the entrance 42. Separate work place create good working environment 43. Smal l pieces o f cloth affected the neighbourhood 44. Fiber and smell of paint polluted the air 45. Different dye affects the community health.