Hybrid Typologies Off-the-grid Working-Living Units
Year: 2009 Location: Delaware, New York Site: Andes Sprout Society 25 Acre Farm Program: 3 Mobile Independent Working-Living Units (I-WLU) 300 ft2 each Each I-WLU is composed of:
1 Independent Working Unit (I-WU) 150 ft2 1 Independent Living Unit (I-LU) 150 ft2
Client: Andes Sprout Society Project Type: Architecture Competition Award: Jury’s short list
M a n u e l Ă v i l a Architecture + Urban Design manuelavilaprojects.com
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Hybrid Typologies This design explores the challenge of creating three mobile studios for artists at a farm in upstate New York using the frame of sustainable environmental design. The mobile studio space opened the possibility to explore the concept of flexibility because the user -- and not me, the designer -- could make his or her own choices concerning the configuration, orientation and location of the studio. For this reason my proposal divides the studio space in two independent units, a working unit and a living one. As a result, this bipartition offers three different configurations or typologies, an independent working unit (I-WU), an independent living unit (I-LU) and finally the sum of both, conforms a hybrid independent working/living unit (I-WLU).
Coop-Space Aware of the fact that artistic disciplines may require collective spaces, or that residents may want to share a common creative or living space, my proposal considered the possible collective typologies that could emerge by combining the I-WLUs in three different ways, and thus creating three new hybrids.
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Sustainability The project attacked the sustainability question in three different areas: (1) the choice of materials: recycled or re-used materials like scrap metal and MDF panels were preferred; (2) water management: the project proposes an entire system of separation and treatment of gray water, and the resident has total control over its consumption and water (re)use; (3) the use of solar energy as a source of power not only confirms the environmental responsibility of the project but also is a fundamental in the project’s concept of mobility, flexibility and independence – the units need not be located near power sources but can be moved to maximize sunlight and solar power.
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Phasing as a Funding Strategy Because this project is based on independent units, it lends itself well to a phased construction process, thus allocating time for fund raising and potential involvement of users in the construction process. Users may live in one unit while helping to construct additional other units. The project is ideally to be completed in three phases, starting in the summer of 2009 and finishing in late summer of 2011.
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