The real cost of a home is paid long after it is built
Picture two homes that cost the same to build. In the first, the family spends the summer months paying for cooling, and a long commute takes a slice of every working day. In the second, the same household spends far less on both. Only one of them is truly affordable, and the difference was decided long before anyone moved in.
That is why affordable housing design must consider the cost of living in a home from the start. Cooling, upkeep and the journey to work all arrive once construction is finished, and residents pay them month after month.
This year’s World Architecture Day theme, “Housing is a Human Right. Build It.”, is a reminder that housing also depends on land, finance and public policy. Design cannot solve it alone. But planning for the full cost and experience of living in a home is a practical contribution the profession can make.
The journey is part of the price
A route to work, school or a clinic costs time and money. When daily needs are hard to reach, even a modestly priced home can strain a household budget.
So streets, utilities, public space and services have to be planned together with the homes they serve, including when each will be ready. A neighborhood that opens before its school or its bus route is a cost carried by residents.
Regional planning is moving in this direction. In Abu Dhabi, Community Facility Planning Standards require larger master plans to test facilities against their projected population. Saudi Arabia’s Housing Program 2024 report describes residential destinations that bring homes together with schools, public services, green spaces and pedestrian routes. Both recognize that planning a home means planning what residents can reach around it.
Comfort is designed in, or paid for later
In a hot climate, the cooling bill begins with the building. Orientation, shading and insulation determine how much heat gets in; the cooling system then has to deal with the rest. Air conditioning accounts for roughly 60–70% of electricity use in UAE buildings, according to the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy. Few decisions in a housing project have a longer reach.
In our own work at K&A, we look at comfort, energy use and maintenance early, while there is still room to compare options. That includes looking at the efficiency of cooling equipment and the insulation of air ducts alongside the purchase price. Then the intent has to survive the journey from drawing to site, through material specifications, procurement and construction. Talking to suppliers and contractors about those details is what stops a cheaper upfront choice from becoming a higher bill for the family living there.
Think in programs, not just projects
A development can meet its budget and its schedule while others quietly absorb the costs: residents, utilities, public services. Looking across a whole housing program brings those costs into view. How do the homes connect to infrastructure? What will they cost to run? Can quality hold as delivery scales?
Setting clear goals early for affordability, quality, resilience and running cost lets teams compare home types, infrastructure capacity and phasing before procurement narrows the choices. Digital planning helps test those options. Repeatable components, such as standard kitchen and bathroom layouts, can make delivery more predictable while layout, orientation and shared space still respond to each site.
Then each project teaches the next. Design standards, procurement and maintenance plans can evolve together, giving clients and public authorities a firmer basis for decisions across the program. When housing has to be delivered at scale and serve communities for decades, that continuity matters.
Access to affordable housing depends on land, finance and policy as well as design. What the profession can offer is to keep residents’ costs and daily experience in view while decisions can still change. That is a practical answer to this year’s World Architecture Day call: plan housing for the years people will live in it.