At the wonderful Pier 32 Marina, the annual retreat continued with round 2 of the mini-PechaKuchas on “three things we should be considering about student housing”. The office was invited to come up with three slides to present in three minutes. Here’s what some of team came up with…
“Central Idea: Reduce cost by modularizing. Also, enlarge common areas by reducing student units to bare essentials and give space back to common areas.”
Sofia –
“I think students need open spaces to read, gather, party, etc. I liked this terrace because it gives you a feeling of peace in which students can read or talk with their friends but also it can be used for parties or events at night. This terrace could be placed at the middle or top of the building to take advantage of the views.”
Gota Residence |East Africa| Studio Seilern Architects
“My point was you need more than just open space for people to actually use. There is an interesting web site called the Project for Public Spaces. They have created Eleven Principles for great community places. The one step that stood out most to me was: Create PLACES … not designs.”
Washington Square | New York City | Robert Moses, Jane Jacobs and Shirley Hayes
“If shipping containers are overused in architectural proposals, they are hotly followed by buildings with planted roofs or walls. Again, the point isn’t about today’s fancy but instead about a way of integrating buildings and land in a way that addresses the loss of arable acreage and proximity to nature. I am convinced that there will be surprising efforts made on this front in the not too distant future. Can we be a part of that conversation?”
Harvest | Conceptual
“Resembling a stack of rotated baskets on a linear site, the building looks complex despite the fact that the living units are simple and repetitious. The large balcony off each unit adds usable living space and also creates the eye-catching building form.”
Basket Apartments | Paris | OFIS Arhiteki