competition :
big ideas for small lots
manhattan, new york
spring 2019
The City of NY + AIA NY hosted a competition to address the housing crisis in New York in an intelligent, efficient, and deployable way across multiple site typologies. Along with the functional context of the brief, we wanted to also focus on elegant solutions and quality home environments that would give the dweller of each unit both flexibility and their own oasis.
With these goals in mind, our response to the prompt translated to a two-fold solution : create a modular structure that could work for multiple types of dwellers, and provide ample indoor/outdoor environments in an otherwise overcrowded city.
Operating within a standardized width of 12’-0”, and the average depth of neighboring lots, we were able to fit two four-story single-family homes on the example site, and two detached homes on the alternate site typology.
The slim envelope set back from neighboring buildings also allows diffuse light to filter to the lower floors of the dwelling, giving a connection to natural rhythm of the day from the interior. Additionally, at the slim site typology, the vertical circulation core was brought to the interior in order to promote security as well as pull light down through the space.
Per the local building restrictions, the maximum building envelope is much greater than the neighboring homes. we decided that maximizing the site’s buildable area was not a goal for the project, but rather to design a livable, affordable, modest home that didn’t present a potential burden on neighboring structures.
A natural, subdued palette was proposed, both in order to let the green space take center stage, and to lessen upkeep for the dwellers.
The rooftop patio is an essential retreat from the city below. By creating an internal circulation core, the neighboring units can enjoy their roof spaces with some amount of privacy. Similarly, the bedrooms were placed on the top floor to lessen noise from the street below.
Through the placement of furniture at level two and level three, the two units are shown with different functions for the space even though the structures are identical.
The two units have separate outdoor seating areas at the front and rear of the site, as well as a common green space at the rear. At the interior, the ground level is planned as a garage and storage space due to the rising water table in the area.
When the structures are separated on wider sites, the space between the two structures allows for ample common green space at the street-level to share.