Historically of limited concern, the concept of childhood has undergone radical
‘inventions’ and ‘reinventions’ since the 19th century, reshaping Western society by
establishing children as a separate group from adults, requiring specialised care,
education and dedicated spaces. At the same time, the need to adapt to constant
massive technological changes led to the adoption of a slow life strategy and a
prolongation of childhood, that sees children spending more time at home than
ever before. In Scotland, despite growing evidence of the domestic environment’s
critical role in supporting children’s harmonious development through play, there is
little effort invested in identifying or implementing the design elements that contribute
to an ideal childhood home. With a predicted rise in urbanisation, mental health issues
and isolation, children’s well-being in the urban environment is increasingly at risk.

In response, this paper studies the cultural, scientific, and legal shifts that led to
changes in family structures, housing needs and legislation, with the scope of
understanding the challenges of designing for children and the opportunities of
improving the current situation. Through discussions with an architect, an economic
historian, a government official and the CEO of children’s rights organisation, the paper
highlights how architects, historically marginalised and cast as an unnecessary
expense, now have the privilege to work on housing projects, and lead the way.

Further, by conducting a longitudinal study of four Scottish urban family housing
developments – tenements, colonies, and their newest iterations – it identifies
patterns associated with childhood and parental satisfaction. As such, it points to the
potential importance of consciously designing the ‘domestic surrounds’ to be
age-layered – i.e. allowing children incremental degrees of independence,
commensurate with their age, thus helping reclaim the freedom both they and their
parents have lost. Finally, it shows how architects, empowered by lessons of the past
and children’s voices of the present, can responsibly co-author a more play-full future.