Cohabitational Housing

Examing a site in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, this project approaches the conversion of empty space to non-blood-related, cohabitational families and individuals. It approached the challenges of typical apartment building arrangements (the double loaded cooridor), the ways in which the plan of a space can encourage social engagement on a unit and building scale, and how a large apartment complex can draw inspiration from the surrounding environment to blend in, rather than stand out.

January-May 2024

Professor Eunjeong Seong

Partner: Gabby Chavez-Courtney

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The project began with an analysis of Odham’s Walk in London, England, concentrating on the building’s organization and structure, which comprises of five residential unit plans aggregated annd stacked to form a somewhat parasitic form. Notably, the structure thins with each rising floor to allow light intonthe central core. Despite vertical circulation systems in opposing corners of the project, the horizontal circulation system is housed predominatly on the third floor. Entrances are kept semi-private, only allowing sight and access to small clusters of units.

Following the case study on the organization and relationship between public/private and communal/individual spaces at Odham’s Walk in London, England, the unit plan was devised and subsequently aggregated to fit the organizational living structure of a cohabitational community, thus informing the mass of the site. Notable here, the units are based on twenty-foot dimensions, the same as a typical New York brownstone.

Through various iterations of this process, a final building plan was achieved. It attempts to resolve a common issue with the double-loaded cooridor: it’s dark, confined spacial characteristic. Thus, pockets placed within the cooridor’s structure allow for moments of porosity for light and air, as well as the programming of dedicated communal systems, such as gardens, lounges, and reading spaces. The final shifting of unit clusters defines the twenty-foot sections that, when viewed vertically up and down the facade, appear dimensionally the same as a brownstone.

For the facade, thorough research was carried out regarding structure and components of a rainscreen system, culminating in the terracotta system applied. Terracotta was chosen for its natural, environmental perks, while aiding in this project disguising itself into the surrounding neighborhood. A lighter color terracotta panel lines the ground floor, representative of the Piano Noble, and a custom-formed bronze parapet completes the classical brownstone aesthetic in a modernized way, carrying a homogeneity of style throughout the neighborhood.

This project, i.e. all research, process, environmental analysis, and final work, was compiled and archived for NAAB Accreditation. To view the PDF Portfolio, click here.