2018 FALL
In order to reduce building cost, provide better living environments to meet needs of different age groups, bring light and nature into urban context, encourage interaction of residents, and promote a sense of community, this housing project utilizes a utility bar and green bar system, which operate on both unit scale and site scale and penetrate the living space. Wrapped by mesh screens, building units are horizontally connected by corridors and vertically connected by light wells, where vegetation weaves with physical and sensual connections.
Our design strategy is to introduce systematic grids to arrange NS oriented utility space bar and WE oriented green space bar. These two types of space penetrate through scattered housing volumes on the site and weave with the third category of space, the living space. In family unit scale, the utility bar contains bathroom, kitchen, laundry, media stand and storage. Plumbings are designed to integrate into one wall to reduce building cost. The green bar, penetrating among housing volumes, provides different green space conditions at different scale and location, such as private courtyard and lightwell, shared courtyard with vertical vegetation screen, green space along with corridors that connect buildings and ground level open green space.
Each housing volume will be built as one independent building with 3 to 5 floors and 1 or 2 families per floor. Buildings are connected by corridors with green space. Groups of 3 to 5 buildings and corridors will be enclosed by mesh screen to create larger building masses and form small communities. The mesh screen layer provides privacy barrier needed for big openings and balconies while enhance sense of small communities.
GSAPP