Home Designs That Define Cities, From London to New York - Bloomberg

Iconic Homes That Define Global Cities

A Bloomberg CityLab Series: Classic home designs explain how the way we live has shaped the history and architecture of urban neighborhoods — and vice versa.

Gers in Ulaanbaatar — Davaanyam Delgerjargal/Bloomberg

An Affordable Nomadic Home Design Struggles to Adapt to Urban Life

Traditional tents imported from rural life have become a cheap and easy source of housing for many in Mongolia’s fast-growing capital. Now the city wants to phase them out.

August 23, 2024

August 23, 2024

How the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest City

Often crowded and poorly maintained, these makeshift tenements still make urban living feasible for poorer residents in the Brazilian megalopolis.

Tenements in So Paulo

July 19, 2024

July 19, 2024

How Edinburgh Tenements Became an Urban Housing Blueprint

The Scottish capital's signature stacked apartments are a window into Edinburgh's political and geographic history. They remain wildly popular today.

Georgian town houses in Edinburgh, Scotland

December 2, 2023

December 2, 2023

How Corporations Created the Prototypical Seoul Apartment

Conglomerates like Hyundai, LG and Samsung played major roles in building the “apatu” complexes in Seoul and across South Korea, and in shaping how South Koreans live today.

South Korea Apartments

November 20, 2023

November 20, 2023

How Mansion Blocks Filled London With Stacks of Flats

These ornate buildings pioneered high-density living for affluent Londoners in the Victorian and Edwardian eras — and their virtues are being rediscovered today.

Majestic Victorian apartment building near Cadogan Square in the affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Chelsea, London

November 8, 2023

November 8, 2023

Vienna Launched a Public Housing Revolution in the 1920s

With their huge scale and shared amenities, the apartment complexes known as Gemeindebauten helped make Austria’s capital one of the world’s most livable cities.

Vienna Launched a Public Housing Revolution in the 1920s

November 1, 2023

November 1, 2023

How ‘Chawl’ Tenements Helped Mumbai Become a Megacity

These urban dwellings built decades ago can rent now for the equivalent of $1 a month. But plans are to demolish many to build high rises.

Chawl Decorated with Paper Lanterns Diwali Festival, Mumbai, India, Asia

May 24, 2023

May 24, 2023

How the Low-Rise Échoppe Homes of Bordeaux Went Upmarket

The modest single-story houses that define the heart of this French city have a mixed reputation, but modern buyers have rediscovered their charms.

How the Low-Rise Échoppe Homes of Bordeaux Went Upmarket

May 17, 2023

May 17, 2023

Boston’s Beloved Triple-Deckers Are Next-Level Affordable Housing

Industrial cities of New England built thousands of these three-unit apartment buildings for immigrant families — until a backlash brought an end to the boom.

An East Boston neighborhood showcases its stock of triple-deckers.

May 10, 2023

May 10, 2023

Australia’s Timber Homes Are Where the Suburbs Meet the Frontier

Fans of the TV show Bluey will recognize these iconic Queensland houses that mix indoor and outdoor living with breezy verandas.

Wooden Queensland house, West End.

May 5, 2023

May 5, 2023

How Leeds Kept the Back-to-Back House Alive

Even as Birmingham and Manchester destroyed these row houses, Leeds continued to build and improve upon the original Victorian design.

UK Daily Life 2021

June 22, 2022

June 22, 2022

How the New York Loft Reclaimed Industrial Grit as Urban Luxury

Once an affordable, makeshift choice for artists in need of space, New York’s lofts have become some of the city’s most coveted homes.

New York Architecture: SoHo Lofts

May 31, 2022

May 31, 2022

How Dublin’s Modest Terraced Houses Came Back Into Fashion

The genteel Victorian structures formed the basis of a post-famine housing boom and speak to the city’s enduring love of low-rise buildings — a preference in the spotlight during a housing shortage.

A Dublin One-Floor-Over-Basement House

May 11, 2022

May 11, 2022

The Japanese Home Design That Strikes a Work-Life Balance

Could the architecture of Kyoto’s historic machiya townhouses offer modern lessons in remote work?

Street of Kyoto with traditional Machiya building with wooden screens and lattices

February 9, 2022

February 9, 2022

Chicago’s Bungalows Are Where the City Comes Together

Transplanted from afar, these modest-but-stylish brick homes embodied the middle-class dreams of a blue-collar boomtown.

Chicago’s Bungalows Are Where the City Comes Together

January 10, 2022

January 10, 2022

How Mexico City’s Vecindades Became Homes for the Working Class

The grandiose buildings were originally inhabited by European aristocracy, but their central courtyards later turned into spaces for communal living.

How Mexico City’s Vecindades Became Homes for the Working Class

September 24, 2021

September 24, 2021

The Iconic Affordable Homes for L.A. Dreamers

The colorful carport-equipped dingbat apartment buildings offered cheaper — and sometimes stylish — digs for generations of L.A. dreamers.

A pedestrian walks a dog past The Pink Flamingo dingbat apartment building. From the San Fernando Valley to Culver City to La Cienega Heights, developers in the 1950s and ‘60s replaced thousands of older Los Angeles buildings with economical two- or three-story apartment complexes, known locally as dingbats.

September 14, 2021

September 14, 2021

How the English Basements of Washington, D.C., Came Into Their Own

Once used by wealthy homeowners for kitchens, guest rooms or coat closets for parties, many D.C. basements have been turned into more affordable rental units.

How the English Basements of Washington, D.C., Came Into Their Own

August 4, 2021

August 4, 2021

The Plexes of Montreal Make Room for Change

With their distinctive details and treacherous outdoor staircases, these two- or three-floor apartment buildings dominate the city’s multi-family rental housing market.

The Plexes of Montreal Make Room for Change

June 10, 2021

June 10, 2021

In New Orleans, the Shotgun House Goes a Long Way Back

Built to beat the heat, these distinctive elongated homes are a fixture of the Crescent City, and beyond.

In New Orleans, the Shotgun House Goes a Long Way Back

May 6, 2021

May 6, 2021

How City Life Transformed Ghana’s Compound Houses

As Accra expanded in the late 19th century, residents recreated the communal homes they knew from the countryside. Today those buildings face overcrowding and demolition.

Ghana Compound Housing

April 7, 2021

April 7, 2021

How Tokyo’s Public Housing Defined Japan’s Middle Class

The postwar danchi style of homes lured Japanese salarymen and their families out of the city with suburban comforts and privacy.

Public Property 'Danchi' In Japan

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021

Why Stockholm's 1930s Housing Projects Are Now in High Demand

Facing a housing crunch almost a century ago, Sweden’s capital built ‘Barnrikehus’ for low-income families. Today the rent-controlled apartments are some of the city’s more sought-after properties.

Why Stockholm's 1930s Housing Projects Are Now in High Demand

March 26, 2021

March 26, 2021

The Resilience of Beirut’s Central Hall Homes

Created for a new middle class in the 19th century, homes combining European and Middle Eastern styles have survived war and redevelopment. Can they come back from the city’s 2020 port explosion?

LEBANON-BLAST-HERITAGE

March 24, 2021

March 24, 2021

How Wartime Victory Houses Shaped Modern Toronto

Homes built for World War II veterans created a blueprint for the city’s suburbs — but their simple design and small size have put them at risk of being torn down.

How Wartime Victory Houses Shaped Modern Toronto

October 14, 2020

October 14, 2020

Istanbul’s Gecekondu Homes Reveal the Building Blocks of a Megalopolis

Gecekondu, or “landed overnight,” homes were hastily constructed as residents from the countryside rushed to Turkey’s urban centers after World War II.

A Gecekondu in the Küçük Armutlu neighborhood of Istanbul

September 30, 2020

September 30, 2020

Prague’s Communist-Era Apartments Get a Second Life

Outside the picturesque city center, Prague’s concrete panelák apartments solved a need for fast, modern housing in the Communist era. They’re still thriving today.

Above Prague residential district with panelaks (buildings from communism era) – Czech Republic

September 25, 2020

September 25, 2020

Beijing's Hutong Homes Offer Respite From Bustling City Streets

China demolished many of the hutongs surrounding the Forbidden City to make way for more modern buildings, but some residents have rediscovered their value.

TOPSHOT-CHINA-LIFESTYLE

September 23, 2020

September 23, 2020

How Reykjavik's Sheet-Metal Homes Beat the Icelandic Winter

The ironclad homes of Iceland's capital city may be unorthodox, but the innovative buildings have kept residents warm and dry for more than century.

Colorful Blue House Street Reykjavik Iceland

September 18, 2020

September 18, 2020

Hanoi Shophouses Reveal City’s Communist and Capitalist History

Vietnam’s traditional “tube-houses” combine living and retail space, though new developments are replacing many.

Vietnam Hanoi

July 17, 2020

July 17, 2020

Brussels’ Ornate Homes Defy City’s Low-Key Reputation

While residents of Paris and Berlin piled into tall tenement buildings, 19th century Belgians built ornate single-family homes.

4 Rue De Labdication

July 15, 2020

July 15, 2020

Behind the Accidentally Resilient Design of Athens Apartments

Athens polikatoikias — concrete apartments with tiered balconies — were built quickly to create affordable housing, but their design has stood the test of time.

Europe, Greece, Athens, Piraeus Area, 2018: View Of Road And Apartment Buildings

July 10, 2020

July 10, 2020

How Sydney Adapted a Classic British Terrace House for the Sunshine

The London-style floor plan of Sydney’s terrace houses never made sense for Australia, but this iconic home design has seen a resurgence in popularity.

AUSTRALIA-ART

July 8, 2020

July 8, 2020

Why Singapore Has One of the Highest Home Ownership Rates

Singapore’s affordable housing program worked so well that some of its subsidized apartments now resell for more than $700,000.

Cityvue Gardens

January 16, 2020

January 16, 2020

Before Paris’s Modern-Day Studios, There Were Chambres de Bonne

Tiny upper-floor “maids’ rooms” have helped drive down local assumptions about exactly how small a livable home can be.

Before Paris’s Modern-Day Studios, There Were Chambres de Bonne

January 15, 2020

January 15, 2020

Why Amsterdam’s Canal Houses Have Endured for 300 Years

A different kind of wealth distribution in 17th-century Amsterdam paved the way for its quintessential home design.

Why Amsterdam’s Canal Houses Have Endured for 300 Years

January 13, 2020

January 13, 2020

How Berlin's Mietskaserne Tenements Became Coveted Urban Housing

Why do mid-rise tenements dominate Berlin? The Mietskaserne, or “rental barracks,” have shaped the city’s culture and its counterculture.

How Berlin's Mietskaserne Tenements Became Coveted Urban Housing

January 10, 2020

January 10, 2020

What’s Behind the Iconic Floor Plan of London

The most common residential floor plans in European cities offer a window into urban history and culture. In London, it’s the “two-up, two-down” row house.

What’s Behind the Iconic Floor Plan of London