Vienna, Austria
2020
@temporaryoffice
Living in isolation during this pandemic has led to many to rethink the notion of communal spaces and importance of cleansing spaces. In a residential setting, communal amenities such as multi-function activity rooms, gym, swimming pools, etc. will be closed off to stop the spread of the virus. Hence, what are the alternatives for inhabitants to live to the fullest during this isolation period? What is the hierarchy of cleansing spaces such as toilets in the apartments?
Prototype Concept
We introduced an open living concept where all unit types have full exposure to nature, creating a sense of respite from the introverted living space typical in small apartments. The act of cleansing will be an important ritual during this pandemic. Therefore, the morphology of the building is manifested in which spaces for cleansing (toilets and wash basins) are positioned in the building core. All living spaces revolve around the cleansing core.
Tower Aggregation
With a tower footprint of 16meters x 16meters, 7 towers of 14-15 stories (density for 400 occupants) can be arrayed across the site in linear fashion with 7 meters gap between the towers. The gaps between towers are keys to introducing infill of greeneries. Maintaining the principle of having a series of isolated towers with full exposure to nature, all towers rotate in oblique angles to create differentiated degree of privacy between towers. Consequentially, this allows for the corners of tower to be social points where residences could socialize on their balcony without coming into close contact of less than 3 meters.
