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RETHINKING COMMUNITY - COLLECTIVE HOUSING FOR THE THIRD AGE
In designing housing we we envision a a a a way of of life We dream of of utopia we we imagine dystopia and we project an an architecture that will construct how we imagine communal living a a a a a network of relationships an ecology Located on on the the riverfront in Cohoes New York the the project is designated for residents nearing the third age The students are charged with conceiving an an inhabitation for dwellers at at another stage of life from their own and providing a a a a a a a dwelling place as as well well as as a a a a a a a structure for social interactions Each student reinforces her vision of life through adding an additional program which enhances her core ideas A housing project operates at at at multiple scales—from that of a a a a a living unit which defines the intimate patterns of of domesticity to to that of of a a a a community from tectonic details to to the the the networked link to to the the the city Students thereby reconcile urban and and landscape consequences of an an an architectural proposition We begin by reading precedent projects—we observe we we we analyze we we we investigate and finally we extract an an essence to to create a a a a a a jointed ‘tectonic nugget’ model This spatial and temporal design tool has no scale It is is a a a a a a a device that can be re-read at at multiple scales and and mined for its tectonic and and conceptual potentials 261
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