Project by Mengxi Xin and Pitnucha Wiriyapanlert
This project explores modularity in collective housing to address site-specific challenges of affordability, daylighting, circulation, program, structure, and urban integration. Drawing lessons from the innovations and shortcomings of precedents such as Walden 7 and Habitat 67, we developed an integrated design logic tailored to the site. The project begins with a combined two-duplex module, which is duplicated, rotated, mirrored, and shifted in response to solar orientation, ventilation, courtyard formation, greenery, and a no-window condition along the rear property line. The resulting scheme is a 12-story collective housing building with 58 units (109 beds), contributing to a total of 100 units on site together with four adjacent tenement houses. Organized around a central courtyard with four vertical cores and two secondary side courtyards, the project ensures ample daylight and ventilation. A clear hierarchy of outdoor spaces—from private balconies to shared activity space, community gardens, courtyards, and lookouts—supports both individual privacy and collective life.