'DISTORTING DOMESTICITY'
Targeting the 'missing middle' section of the housing market, a community of 'plexes' uses distortions of traditional single- family homes - their siting, plan, massing, and materiality - to both blend into its context and critique our perceptions of densified housing.
In Portland, when a person or family is ready to take the plunge into homeownership it often necessitates a move to the suburbs where housing is more affordable on entry-level incomes. In doing so, these new homeowners are forced to sacrifice the dense, walkable, and exciting neighborhoods they might prefer for the dream of equity and a few more square feet. Many of these neighborhoods, still have single family homes - but only at prices laughably unattainable for most Portlanders.
Located in Northwest Portland just a few blocks from 23rd Ave, the Streetcar and at the base of the West Hills, the project is surrounded by historic multi-million dollar Victorian and Craftsman houses. These homes are emblematic of the traditional vision of domesticity - the gabled roofs, brightly colored shingle- and lap-siding, lush landscaping and their own plot of land. This project subverts these elements to help show that attainable housing can still be built in these invigorating neighborhoods.
This project distorts and warps the siting, plan, massing, and materiality of the single-family home as a nod and wink to the context, while also critiquing the typology and our stereotypical assumptions about densified housing. A key piece is balancing community, privacy, and individuality; the project intentionally brings people and their homes together, interlocking and carving out their masses to create communal space. At the same time, units tilt away from each other to minimize shared partitions. Distorted gables and over-scaled claddings allow the buildings to reference their neighbors, while also creating additional visual interest and giving each residence a unique character.
Location: Portland, OR
Year: 2022
Type: Design Workshop
Collaboration with Steven Cagle.
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