Affordable Modular Collective Housing: Housociety/How Society

SVA IDBE Studio I – Fall 2021, Affordable Modular Collective Housing: Housociety, How Society

Concept Statement

House society is a combination of well-oriented and multi-functionally space. That prompts a wellness experience for users who live in this community.

To further explain my concept statement, house society has the potential to make the users have more interaction in reality instead of virtual connections. House society promotes wellness through the private individual unit, and communal space by making users share moments and activities through physical connections. 

Interior View of Multi-Generational Unit
Exterior View of Multi-Generational Unit

Research

People are generally happier decades ago. The reason why they are happier is because they are living as a unit. They talk to each other and help each other. I did a research and I found a TikTok which was released in 2015, a psychiatrist and director of the Harvard study of adult development, Dr. Robert Waldinger said “good relationships keep us happier and healthier” and he also talked about social connections are good for us, and loneliness kills our happiness. This turns out that people who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to the community are tend to be happier than those who isolate themselves. 

Experiencing loneliness is toxic, the reason shows these people, their brain functions decline and live shorter than people who are not lonely. Study the way people connect to each other from decades ago and improving the experience of sharing by more advanced programs within the living space is my strategy to design this wellness apartment unit. 

Precedent Study

In this social housing project, you can see, how they add a balcony to the unit. The two pictures you can see above show the transformation of the space. This balcony is called the winter garden, you can see there are plants added on this bouche which make this building become a vivid urban living space. This is how a balcony plays an important role in small space living. 

Winter Garden: designed by French architects Lacaton and Vassal.

Audience & Program

Multi-Generational Family

User Profile and Time Schedule

On the left side are blocks in different colors that represent the users in this unit. Also, their colors represent their experience journey. The length of these colored shapes is different, but also there are some common points that these shapes are connected—- and this represents the time that this family gathered together.

Audience & Program

Alternative Plan for 4 Roommates

Program

This axonometric in different colors represent different experience journey. On the right, there’s a square with a dashed line is my alternative plan for 4 roommates. The user can remove the living room and add a sliding door, and this space becomes a temporary bedroom for one more person. 

Zoning & Journey Diagram

This diagram is about grandparents’ daily routine in this apartment. 
This diagram is about the parents and the children’s daily routine in this apartment. 

Multi-Generational Unit Plan & Transformation

This is the floor plan for the multi-generationally family. You can see there’s powder room and a bathroom and there are three individual bedrooms. Each room has the accessibility to go to the balcony. And also the living room seems not small for a multi-generationally family, but there’s a sliding door in this living room area. In the summertime, they can open the door and go to the balcony. 

From this plan the bedroom is added to the former living room.

Alternative Plan: 4 Roommates

Space Comparison

There’s the area size of both interior bedroom space and outdoor balcony space. The outdoor space is equal to another interior bedroom space. So the users in each room have the opportunity to have this entire space

Exploded Axonometric

Floor plan + layout of the model with furniture

Section Drawing & Reflected Ceiling Plan

Material & Finishes

This material board is also my mood board to show my interior space style (choice of material) these materials are affordable and you can find these martial from IKEA. 

Rendering

Exterior Rendering of The Neighborhood
Exterior Rendering of The Neighborhood
Exterior Rendering of Multi-Generational Family Unit
Interior parent’s bedroom rendering
Living room rendering
Living room rendering
Exterior rendering of Multi-Generational Family Unit
Interior rendering of bathroom
Interior rendering of kid’s bedroom