concept & vision

our proposal begins with a love for proximity, density, encounter, exchange, people, all people, and city, and proposes a tight, highly flexible strategy to invent, adapt, and then invent again an array of architecture responses toward a more inclusive and sensible urban density

design & architecture

containers are stacked 2 or 3 wide to fit the narrow lot, and articulated through geometric cuts to open the volume on the two short facades (and/or along the long side facade if on a corner lot), and inside, where the longitudinal walls are cut to generate wider spaces in the front and back of each floor-plate

program & use

we value shared and communal spaces, beginning at the top floor where an enclosed area comprises a shared event/party/screening room, a laundry, an informal daycare, plus access to the a roof deck, covered by a green trellis. Similarly, the ground floor includes an open, shared live/work area in the back that opens up completely onto the back yard/garden. In the front, a bicycle room and a mail/package foyer are right at the building entrance. Apartments have a high degree of flexibility—each floor can be organized as a one-bedroom, as half of a two-to-three bedroom duplex, or as a two studio-type unit with a shared kitchen/dining area

impact & significance

our home thrives on small. And tight, dense, repetitive—we see the complexity and constraint of small lots as a great potential for invention. And take responsibility for our city, and for today’s ideas of city and city dwelling, to retain and promote its sustainable diversity. Our home houses all of us, at different ages and with different families. Within the same floor plate, a variety of unit types house a variety of inhabitants. Denser, smaller-scale and shared urban living is already inherently green. Our upcycling approach takes that further