Mondrian Mass Housing
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
Tall apartments with increased number of flats host lots of renters, who don’t know who they live with. They become unfamilier with the concept of sharing. Accordingly, units of each module in this lateral housing design are arranged in a way that the provided distance will not disturb the neighbours; in fact it will help them to unite, notice each other and connect. The adaptable, easy-constructed modular system will be the possible solution to replace this feeling of strangeness with sympathy.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
The main concept is drived as a reaction to the todays vertical growing apartments. The heavy feeling of skyscrapers and their big footprints are one of the crucial problems of our world. As the levels of those buildings willingness to touch the sky increases, their bodies become thinner and thinner to be the longest. At the end, they completely disconnect from the existing environment they are in and become a stranger standing by its own. This is exactly happening between human beings. Generosity, spirit of sharing, helpfulness is being in danger of extinction. I believe the first rule of designing a housing complex should aim to revive these feelings between people. Instead of being a stranger to your next door neighbour, you should be knowing each other. What is believed with this project is that, the idea of togetherness can be possible by a horizontally integrated housing complex design. This way of development, highlights the idea of spreading through the area and being close to the mother earth. Since this idea behind the concept intend to be sprawl through the world in both quick and efficient way, a modular system has been thought as the main design principle.
Key objectives for sustainability
The 6 different modules forming the housing complex are arranged in a way that they respect to the distance they have between each other. These distances are enough to provide natural ventilation for the units. This happens due to the fact that circulation area around the cores allows the air flow inside the blocks. In order to provide the environmental control, sliding panels are designed to be located in different angles and positions changing in each season. They are even open to further development in terms of a small system that can be used to convert the wind energy to electrical energy aimed to be used for the housing complex itself.
In the ground level where there are also some places for people to gather, solar shading panels are aimed to be used. In the possible scenario, solar shading panels are fixed and closed during winter; opened and moved or relocated according to the wind path during summer. They are located vertical in the west ; horizontal in the south.
In terms of the material aimed to be used for the construction of the project, concrete and wood, innovative and sustainable options are thought to be considered. Also, when it is come to the amount of material that will be used for the construction, the system being modular helps to reduce the total amount of waste material, energy and time in this process.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
What makes this project stand to a reason is that the functionality goes together with the aesthetics. Since they feed each other, they are not separated in the big picture. In terms of aesthetics, I believe that, this concept design brings back the taste of modernity we use to have in 90's. The clear definition, plainness, showing the true material are points that I think what makes this design timeless. Today's world is facing with a chaos due to the progressive increase in various design approaches. In the contrary, this pure design idea of the project lives forever, no better which year you are in.
Key objectives for inclusion
The other point to be underlined under this topic is the advantage provided by the construction method. Unit arrangements allows the user to experience both the private and common terraces of apartment flats. When the unit has a cantilever roof, the unit above can use that roof as its own terrace either for private or public use. These terraces function as gathering and free circulation areas for people living in that complex. This fact increases the interaction between them. The ground level of the complex is not fully closed. It is ground free and supported with the columns in some parts. With this fact, users are aimed to experience three different scenarios; one is the closed ares where cafe, library, meeting rooms, gallery type of functions are introduces; second is the free space left between the columns where some temporary functions such as car parking, playground, exhibition to take place; third is the arcade idea where people are aimed to have the feeling of free circulation between other complexes and the environment.
Overall, complex becomes a place where all parts are effectively used for various purposes.
Innovative character
The idea of "same modules but different combinations for different sites" forms the innovative character of the project. These six modules in total offers you a limitless number of combinations in terms of different design approaches. In this sense, by taking the six modules as the basis, they can be attached to each other from different position to have a proper settlement for the site it is planned to be constructed. The sequence of the modules can totally change during the design process. To give an example; In the project I presented, modules are attached in a way that they form a horizontally growing, 5 level apartments. But in another project this modules can be used all in a different sense, that they might form a cluster with the possibility of another combination option.
