Small footprint design presents an opportunity to radically change our approach to affordable housing. Not only on the scale of individual apartments but also in the planning of our city blocks and existing buildings. Throughout these areas, Rob McGauran see’s large amounts of ‘lazy land’, space that could easily be occupied by uniquely designed affordable housing that brings those in need into our communities, rather than moving them into high rise towers. In Amsterdam, Heren 5 has designed a unique neighbourhood of housing units, featuring tailored apartments fit for different stages of life. In a post-COVID world, with housing becoming less affordable in many places, these projects are designed to bring a diverse range of people together in areas that they may have been unable to access, and build new communities as the way we live changes.