Integrated Housing Studio / Spring 2023
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Baltimore, Maryland
Professors Mersiha Veledar, Daisy Ames, Nader Tehrani
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Convergent living proposes a new typology that redefines unit boundaries and linkages between tight communities, within a larger connected complex. The perimeter condition punctured by openings invites public program and events to the block interior. Traditional double-loaded circulatory spines are reimagined into activity spaces by enlarging public areas and creating vertical cuts that allow access to natural light and views.
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A new concept where units are linked by balconies capture multigenerational and modern living arrangements, allowing connection while retaining individuality. A continuous public promenade spirals sectionally through each complex, leading residents to a central public volume.
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An urban analysis reveals Baltimore’s challenging history of redlining, and the unequal distribution of urban parks in predominately well-off neighbourhoods, while being confined to small grid interventions elsewhere. Below shows an analysis of Casa de la Marina by Coderch as a precedent to this project.
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To maintain privacy facing the street and intimacy facing the internal courtyard, this project includes two facade strategies that use a rollable mesh with a minimal profile one one side and a shifting balcony system on the other. CLT construction and building details are carefully considered to optimize for R-value.