TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, [A+BE] Graduate School Towards a new housing business model: The feasibility of industrialized flexible housing for young starters in Malaysia Keywords: Innovative leasing, Industrialized Flexible housing, Business model, Open building & Infill, Real Estate & Housing Department/ Design and Construction Management) Area of Research: Innovation in the Management of the Built Environment Mohd Zairul Mohd Noor PhD started in: September, 2012 M.Sc. in Architectural Studies 2011 B. of Architecture 2005 Promoter(s): Prof. Dr.Ir. J.W.F. Wamelink Co-Promoter: Prof. Dr. Ir. V. Gruis Daily Supervisor(s): Dr. John L. Heintz Research Summary: The definition of flexible housing is definitely broad. One easy definition is a Email: [email protected] flexible house that can physically change according to users’ need and configuration. However, the concept might posed expensive construction and involves a complex manufacturing technology thus make it expensive towards customers. The study aims to provide feasibility study of flexible housing through innovative leasing of the housing components towards young starters in Malaysia. This research posits that the future housing industry in Malaysia will be using a manufacturing style of production thus help young starters to access housing in Malaysia and ‘grow’ and ‘shrink’ with the house. Towards the end, the research highlights the architecture flexibility of the housing, the business model to support the financial aspect and the delivery of the product for supply chain management. The research will be using focus groups and multiple case study(s) as its research investigation strategy. The result will highlight key components behind flexible housing supply chain management and also post constructional changes in the housing industry. It will develop the future model of flexible housing that leasing its components to support ‘grow’ and innovative financial solution for young starters in Malaysia. Phone: (+31)6 4139 0224 M ain Question: How does Industrialized Flexible Housing provide alternative towards better workmanship, customizable options and flexible financial for housing industry in Malaysia? Research Methodology: Qualitative inquiry has been discovered as one of the way to reveal things Deliverables: To seek whether we did not know in a new way that allows flexibility in the investigation procedure. In contrast to the the new business model is feasible in popular method of marketing survey, this approach is seen to be more sensitive and explorative that suit the context of Malaysia housing the nature to uncover new ideas(Wardle, 2002). The study used explorative approach in which industry respondents share their feedbacks and we were also aware of the limitation that the research is exploring raw and not fully finished ideas and things might evolve along the way. As Wardle (2002) mentioned, the qualitative inquiry is good in understanding but not predicting. This approach allowed the respondents to understand the new business model in depths to add on new ideas according to their needs and experiences. The exploratory nature of the study led us to use focus groups and case studies for qualitative inquiry. Key Publications: Zairul, M. (2013). Housing dilemma among young starters in Malaysia. Elixir online journal, 58, 14923–14926. Updated: October 30, 2014