Unit L: Making Housing Public
Making Housing Public
Cooperative living in urban environments
In Unit L we immerse ourselves in the possibilities of cohousing as an alternative model for new housing. Defined by the intricate act of sharing our domestic lives with others, we draw inspiration from commonplace shared and private activities to create positive additions to the environment that foster unity and connectivity in existing and new communities.
Our studio is sited in Hoxton, London, a vibrant and contradictory inner city example where property values are rising exponentially. The sense of a ‘home’ as an unreachable commodity is palpable; an acute tension exists from the continuous dissemination of long established communities, out priced by ‘for-profit developments’ - an extreme phenomenon of deconstruction and renewal, encompassed, or arguably veiled, under the mantra of a national demand for housing.
Our approach is one of inclusivity, user participation and collaboration. Low cost aspirations, entwined with a consideration of “what not to construct” pre occupation, allow inhabitants to live creatively as a community, shaping their environments to suit their evolving lives.
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Unit Leads: Mark Rist, Natalie Savva
Technology Tutor: Martin Waters
MPL Tutor: Mark Rist
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Tim Culverhouse
Maliha Haque
Shaomin He
Alex Otiv
Simon Bayly
Ian White
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Year 2 Students
Enerel Altankhuyag
Ethan Brien
Tara Campbell
Bernice Chan
Jess Coley
Lilly May Furness
Isaac Lawson
Chloe Martin
David May
Amalia Radasanu
Laura Rodriguez
Raiza Shanavas
Nisarga Shinde
Ellis Wyer
Year 3 Students
Simon Bossen
Matty Cheesbrough
Muna Dahir
Christopher England-Rendon
Keny Patel
Hannah Snow
Oakley Sze
Izzy Tranter
Bernice Chan: Regenerating food cultures and opportunities - The project targets on freelance-chefs, who have limited job opportunities under COVID. The housing provides 8 dwellings with a food stall of their own. Different types of foods are sold in the food stall to diverse food cultures in Hoxton.
Bernice Chan: Regenerating food cultures and opportunities - The project targets on freelance-chefs, who have limited job opportunities under COVID. The housing provides 8 dwellings with a food stall of their own. Different types of foods are sold in the food stall to diverse food cultures in Hoxton.
Chloe Martin: A place to redefine what 'family' means' - Hackney has one of the highest numbers of children in foster care in London. These 6 dwellings for foster families are interconnected by an external walkway, which allows parents to watch over children playing in the 'street' below.
Chloe Martin: A place to redefine what 'family' means' - Hackney has one of the highest numbers of children in foster care in London. These 6 dwellings for foster families are interconnected by an external walkway, which allows parents to watch over children playing in the 'street' below.
Chris England-Rendon: The Multi-generational Co-housing Project - Targeting disenfranchised families left behind by gentrification through a multi-generational, evolving residential complex. Reinstituting a street-based community as a social alternative to Hoxton’s for-profit developments and disrupting the pattern of displacement.
Chris England-Rendon: The Multi-generational Co-housing Project - Targeting disenfranchised families left behind by gentrification through a multi-generational, evolving residential complex. Reinstituting a street-based community as a social alternative to Hoxton’s for-profit developments and disrupting the pattern of displacement.
Ellis Wyer: Single parent cohousing - A project to bring together single parents struggling with the pressures of raising children alone. With communal living areas and an added crèche to provide a support network for the single parent community within the building
Enerel Altankhuyag: Single Parents supported by Lodgers - Being a single parent is getting more and more unaffordable, by proposing co-housing for them it not only improves their financial but also their social situation. They will be supported by Lodgers who can subsidise cost as well as improve on everyday functioning of the building.
Hannah Snow: All Board Co-Housing for displaced canal families - Boating families are being displaced in Hackney and their similar values of sustainability, minimal living and protecting the environment could benefit from a co-housing solution. The site, on the water’s edge, is in the heart of many existing communities, and a workshop on the existing community centre site aims to bring them together.
Hannah Snow: All Board Co-Housing for displaced canal families - Boating families are being displaced in Hackney and their similar values of sustainability, minimal living and protecting the environment could benefit from a co-housing solution. The site, on the water’s edge, is in the heart of many existing communities, and a workshop on the existing community centre site aims to bring them together.
Isaac Lawson - Yours, Mine and Ours. Artists Dwellings - Co-housing residences for local low-income artists starting families so they do not have to relocate. Co-working and independent workspaces with physical transitional spaces to allow for a degree of separation for work/ life division and balance.
Isaac Lawson: Yours, Mine and Ours. Artists Dwellings - Co-housing residences for local low-income artists starting families so they do not have to relocate. Co-working and independent workspaces with physical transitional spaces to allow for a degree of separation for work/ life division and balance.
Izzy Tranter: The Sewing Studio: An incubator for creating, living and working - This proposal will provide a new, vibrant cohousing space, which will be an incubator space where local merchants and consumers of the textiles industry meet in one location.
Jess Coley: A Place for Musians - A co-housing project allowing a music group to practise, record and perform on their doorstep. Featuring a large, adaptable performance space, it can be opened up to the street and school playground to enourage the community to enjoy live music.
Lilly May Furness: A Collective for Analogue Enthusiasts.Addressing Anxiety in Contemporary Culture - A place for those who want to connect with ‘the real world’ and each other through analogue media like vinyls, books and film photography. It is also a calm space aimed to help ease anxiety caused by the online world.
Lilly May Furness: A Collective for Analogue Enthusiasts.Addressing Anxiety in Contemporary Culture - A place for those who want to connect with ‘the real world’ and each other through analogue media like vinyls, books and film photography. It is also a calm space aimed to help ease anxiety caused by the online world.
Matty Cheesbrough
Nisarga Shinde: Cohousing for families new to the workforce, and need help with the balance of family and work life - This cohousing project is targeted towards young/new families who might be struggling balancing their work and family life. The public creche invites other families into the collective, which helps the existing families meet other families, and create a bond. The cohousing collective, focuses on aiding these families, through a work room, some common kitchens and other facilties, etc.
Oakley Sze: Trial and Error - Trial and Error' is a prototype of co-housing, which is targeting the food truck owners around London. Through the evolution of the eatery place, to provide various food options, to fulfil the food demands in this evolving residential area.
Oakley Sze: Trial and Error - Trial and Error' is a prototype of co-housing, which is targeting the food truck owners around London. Through the evolution of the eatery place, to provide various food options, to fulfil the food demands in this evolving residential area.
Raiza Shanavas: Balancing Independence with Interdependence - Cohousing Proposal for Performance Artists with Disabilities - The project aims to fill-in the gap found in the supply-demand of accessible homes by proposing for a co-living space for Hoxton's differently-abled performers to live together and gain a sense of independence. The design enhances spatial experience using light and sound. The ramp facilitates the transition from public (theatre) to private (dwellings) domain
Raiza Shanavas: Balancing Independence with Interdependence - Cohousing Proposal for Performance Artists with Disabilities - The project aims to fill-in the gap found in the supply-demand of accessible homes by proposing for a co-living space for Hoxton's differently-abled performers to live together and gain a sense of independence. The design enhances spatial experience using light and sound. The ramp facilitates the transition from public (theatre) to private (dwellings) domain
Tara Campbell: Hoxtons Neighbourhood Habitation - This building was designed to mix the elderly and young people in Hoxton by designing a community space that organised activities that both generations could enjoy together. The building also provides co-housing for the elderly with shared facilities.
Tara Campbell: Hoxtons Neighbourhood Habitation - This building was designed to mix the elderly and young people in Hoxton by designing a community space that organised activities that both generations could enjoy together. The building also provides co-housing for the elderly with shared facilities.