Technology innovation in social housing

As is known, the construction sector in Italy has many and deep-rooted anomalies, especially in the residential sub-sector. It is possible, in fact, to talk of a “housing problem”: backwardness of the industrial sector, long-term planning lack of policies – especially for research investments – and widespread lawlessness in the building site operations are just some of the factors that contribute to a condition of almost “permanent emergency”. A paradoxical situation, if we consider that the construction industry has always significantly contributed to the growth of national GDP, helped in this by policies that promoted the ownership of residential buildings, with the consequence of having Italy among the first places in Europe as percentage of building owners compared to the entire population. The deep socio-economic changes of recent years in Italy (aging of the population, increasing migration flows, rising unemployment, a “long-stay” of people in the parents’ house, household debt, etc.) are pushing towards a rethinking of the role of social housing. In a country that is, in this case, among the last places in Europe as public investment. In such a scenario, it is therefore important a re-evaluation of social housing as a key element for a rebalancing of the Italian situation in the residential sector. Pursuing policies that promote technological innovation as an integral part of the design process can encourage the creation of more liveable architectures, that can better meet the constantly changing needs of users. Factors such as the centrality of design, the flexibility of typological solutions, greater energy efficiency and the application of innovative construction techniques can, without any doubt, promote the development of high-quality social housing, especially in environmental terms. The paper, after a presentation of the Italian construction and social housing sectors, presents how technological innovation can promote the development of appropriate policies for social housing. The paper also presents some recent case studies where have been used innovative solutions.