2022, Spring Quarter, 10 weeks, UCLA
As the cost of housing continues to skyrocket, it is becoming increasingly difficult for students and working young adults to afford the cost of living. Many young adults have no choice but to live with their parents or share an apartment with roommates. The most common problem with these situations is that everyone involved loses a bit of their privacy.
A derivative of the classic Los Angeles typology: the dingbat, my design incorporates levels of housing above parking spaces, and six cores that bring light and air into lower units, and serve as exponentially sized up versions of the matchstick columns found in traditional dingbats. My housing strategy attempts to solve this privacy problem through three unit types: the Economy, Court, and
Stack. The Economy and Court units are stratified, each occupying a single level, while the Stack is allowed to span both. Designed for parents supporting their adult children (or vice versa) and groups of young adults, the separation of the unit types and the split level of the Stack allow for a greater degree of privacy and spatial autonomy while retaining the proximity that many familial groups and friends desire.
Occupants of separate units are encouraged to enter a group rental contract that allows them to divide financial responsibilities among themselves. For example: two couples who would otherwise be financially forced to share a two bedroom apartment can contractually co-rent two Economy units, or one Economy and one Court. A student living in an Economy unit can co-rent with their parents, who live in a Stack, giving the student the space and privacy they require for their studies. One family unit living in a Stack can co-rent with an elderly parent living in an Economy or Court unit.
The flag lot configuration isolates this little community from the noise and chatter of the outside world, and from the smells and bustle of the main street, creating a centralized oasis for the occupants. A childcare center, laundromat, multipurpose room, and gym are centrally located within this block of private housing, serving the surrounding community.
A derivative of the classic Los Angeles typology: the dingbat, my design incorporates levels of housing above parking spaces, and six cores that bring light and air into lower units, and serve as exponentially sized up versions of the matchstick columns found in traditional dingbats. My housing strategy attempts to solve this privacy problem through three unit types: the Economy, Court, and
Stack. The Economy and Court units are stratified, each occupying a single level, while the Stack is allowed to span both. Designed for parents supporting their adult children (or vice versa) and groups of young adults, the separation of the unit types and the split level of the Stack allow for a greater degree of privacy and spatial autonomy while retaining the proximity that many familial groups and friends desire.
Occupants of separate units are encouraged to enter a group rental contract that allows them to divide financial responsibilities among themselves. For example: two couples who would otherwise be financially forced to share a two bedroom apartment can contractually co-rent two Economy units, or one Economy and one Court. A student living in an Economy unit can co-rent with their parents, who live in a Stack, giving the student the space and privacy they require for their studies. One family unit living in a Stack can co-rent with an elderly parent living in an Economy or Court unit.
The flag lot configuration isolates this little community from the noise and chatter of the outside world, and from the smells and bustle of the main street, creating a centralized oasis for the occupants. A childcare center, laundromat, multipurpose room, and gym are centrally located within this block of private housing, serving the surrounding community.
Programs: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Materials: foam core, glue, bristol, paper, spray adhesive, gravel/dirt, basswood, powder 3D print, plastic scale figures/plants
