Is the nuclear family home an architectural tool of repression and social control" asks Phineas Harper.

The nuclear family house is one of the most successful architectural inventions ever. It has, spread across the world and is now the default template around which the vast majority of domestic architecture is designed and planning policies written. Nuclear housing, and the nuclear family itself, are so popular that it is almost impossible to imagine alternatives.
Yet, for a growing number of critics, the nuclear house is a deterministic form of architecture which stifles individual and collective potential. Designed to enforce a particular social structure, nuclear housing hardwires divisions in labour, gender and class into the built fabric of our cities. Is there now a case for architects to take a stand against nuclear housing" Is it time for domestic nuclear deproliferation" London Housing developer Henley Homes came under fire recently for segregating its tenants by wealth. Poor residents were being denied access to communal facilities including a playground reserved for the children of richer families.
The British government was quick to respond. "Restricting children from play because they live in social housing is outrageous," it stated. "We are committed to tackling stigma and challenging the stereotypes perpetuated by such segregation."
Family housing has always been a tool of restriction and segregation
Yet family housing has...