MANHATTANVILLEMICROHOUSING
MITCHELLHAGEDORN
TABLEOFCONTENTS RAISON D’ÊTRE PROPOSAL BUILDING DESIGN UNIT DESIGN MAPS + DEMOGRAPHICS CONTEXT PROGRAM ANALYSIS PRECEDENT TAKING UP SPACE SPECTRUM METRICS + INTERIOR STANDARDS MECHANICAL SYSTEMS INSPIRATION FAÇADE MATERIALS
RAISON D’ÊTRE
The very current notions of micro-housing in New York City and an interest in developing a new generation of Single Occupancy Housing presents a unique opportunity for me to create a project of this nature. Geared towards a motivated range of individuals, the project aims to provide a solution for young students and teachers, artists and musicians, researchers and entrepreneurs... but in this mixture, there will be a particular call to innovators via the social program on site. Taking precedent from a series of explorations on microhousing, a somewhat more open ended approach to community engagement is taken with the inclusion of communal living and dining spaces, large membership co-working lofts, and rentable work lofts to engage with the commercial ventures that support this minimal, more efficient housing option and lifestyle. This housing project intends to enrichen the experience of its inhabitants and the immediate community by combining simple, well-designed living spaces with vibrant communal spaces in which to mingle with like-minded individuals and to engage in the informal intellectual and cultural exchange taking place in the neighborhood of Manhattanville in Upper Manhattan. Specifically because Manhattanville is about to be endowed with a plethora of collaborative work, research and innovation spaces via Columbia University’s expansion, it is important to provide this same living and social environment in local housing. These inhabitants of Manhattanville require reasonably priced, effiecient housing to get by, but also the dynamic social experience that only neighborhood and an engaged habitat can provide. My proposed microhousing program on West 126th Street will work to fulfill that goal, fostering the ability for individuals to thrive in West Harlem and modern New York City life.
PROPOSAL
FINAL DESIGN
5
MICROUNITS
BUILDING SERVICES LOBBY DINING ROOM LIVING ROOM
2
CO-WORKING
RENTABLE SPACE
CAFE / RESTAURANT RESTAURANT SERVICE LAUNDRY BIKE STORAGE TENANT STORAGE
MECHANICAL
OUTDOOR
1
PROGRAMMATIC ZONES CIRCULATION | FIRE STAIRS + ELEVATORS
6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | MICROUNITS 1/8”=1’-0”
SUPPORT | MECH, STORAGE, ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
RESTROOMS | MEN + WOMEN’S BATHROOM
MATERIALS + FINISHES BRICK | HANDMADE KOLUMBA 92, GERMAN GREY
5 | LIVING + CO-WORK LOFT 1/8”=1’-0”
WOOD | WHITE OAK PANELING
MILLWORK | BLACK FINISH, HIGH GLOSS
CONCRETE | CAST-IN-PLACE, SMOOTH
2, 3, 4 | RENTABLE WORK LOFTS 1/8”=1’-0”
1 | LOBBY, BUILDING SERVICES, RESTAURANT + COURTYARD 1/8”=1’-0”
1 | LOBBY, BUILDING SERVICES, RESTAURANT + COURTYARD 1/8”=1’-0”
1|
LO RE BBY, S 1/1 BU 6”= TA 1’-0 UR ILD ” AN ING T+ CO SERV UR IC TY ES, AR D
1 | LOBBY, BUILDING SERVICES, RESTAURANT + COURTYARD 1/8”=1’-0”
2, 3, 4 | RENTABLE WORK LOFTS 1/8”=1’-0”
2,
3,
4|
RE
1/1
6”=
NT AB
1’-0
”
LE
WO R
KL OF
TS
CONCRETE | CAST-IN-PLACE, SMOOTH
2, 3, 4 | RENTABLE WORK LOFTS 1/8”=1’-0”
MATERIALS + FINISHES BRICK | HANDMADE KOLUMBA 92, GERMAN GREY
5 | LIVING + CO-WORK LOFT 1/8”=1’-0”
WOOD | WHITE OAK PANELING
MILLWORK | BLACK FINISH, HIGH GLOSS
5|
LIV
1/1
6”=
ING
1’-0
”
+C OWO R
KL OF
T
MATERIALS + FINISHES BRICK | HANDMADE KOLUMBA 92, GERMAN GREY
5 | LIVING + CO-WORK LOFT 1/8”=1’-0”
WOOD | WHITE OAK PANELING
PROGRAMMATIC ZONES CIRCULATION | FIRE STAIRS + ELEVATORS
6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | MICROUNITS 1/8”=1’-0”
SUPPORT | MECH, STORAGE, ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
RESTROOMS | MEN + WOMEN’S BATHROOM
6,
7, 8
,9
, 10
|M 1/1
ICR 1’-0 OU
6”=
”
NIT S
PROGRAMMATIC ZONES CIRCULATION | FIRE STAIRS + ELEVATORS
6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | MICROUNITS 1/8”=1’-0”
SUPPORT | MECH, STORAGE, ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
DOUBLE GLAZED SLIDING DOOR TO MICROUNIT FIXED EXTERNAL GLAZING
OPERABLE VENT
MOTORIZED VENETIAN BLIND
VENETIAN BLIND MOTOR
RECESSED LIGHT / MECHANICAL CAVITY
OPERABLE VENT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | SUN ROOM PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
1”=1’-0”
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
EXTERIOR MATERIALS + FINISHES BRICK | HANDMADE KOLUMBA 92, GERMAN GREY
2, 3, 4 | WORK LOFT BALCONY WOOD | WEATHERPROOF WHITE OAK PANELING
ALUMINUM | BLACK MATTE FINISH WINDOW FRAME
1”=1’-0”
UNIT DESIGN
M2 | UNITS
0.5
1.0
1.5 MICRO UNIT 1/2”=1’-0”
HVAC + MECH
RCP
28 75 0 28 0
75 28
60
29 02
72
1
28 55 68 28 1
55
68 28
MICRO UNIT 1/2”=1’-0”
MAPS + DEMOGRAPHICS
The following maps of New York City are visuals created for the “Making Room� exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. They are based on information provided by the US Census and are extremly helpful in demonstrating the fact that the make-up of the city has been shifting towards a more independent, single individual and couples without children. These graphics were very influential in my decision to focus on a housing for this new and ever-increasing sect of the New York City population.
On the preceding pages, we see a simple zoom in onto my site on West 126th Street between Amsterdam and Convent Avenues in Upper Manhattan. The somewhat triangular block is an intriguing remnant of the old Manhattan street grid colliding with the infamous grid of the Commissioner’s Plan. The proposed microhousing is to be located in this rezoned “Factory District”. As the old factories, such as the Taystee Cake Factory are torn down, they make way for new construction, seen in the axonometric view to the left outlined in orange, with the largest being the proposed Taystee Building (a new commercial building). The following pages provide several images of the existing and proposed character of the immediate neighborhood.
CONTEXT
The expansion of Columbia University just above 125th Street in Manhattanville is a huge venture that will immensely change the surrounding neighborhoods. This expansion, along with the existing Columbia campus in Morningside Heights, City College to the north, and the CUNY Advanced Science and Research Center on City College’s south campus, will create a massive call for new housing units in West Harlem. Already a rapidly changing neighborhood, West Harlem (including Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights) will become a more invigorated academic region with a plethora of students, researchers, and entrepreneurs, many of whom will need short-term housing and modern work and leisure spaces.
This series of maps shows the newly rezoned “Factory District” in its current state of zoning. The already mixed-use blocks are to be reinvigorated with an even stronger mix of programs, something that the microhousing and rentable work lofts will provide. The transportation mapping on the opposite page strengthen the argument for the project’s location, showing the ease of access to the site via several MTA subway and bus lines. Access to mass transit is mere blocks away in every direction
PROGRAM ANALYSIS
The program and massing analysis for this project was a lesson in iteration; many examples of the program being massed into the site were explored and tested. Above, we see simple sketches exploring some possibilities of how to organize the microunits on the site and how to negotiate the wonderful condition of having a through-block site between 126th and 127th Streets. The following page shows four of these options articulated with a more in-depth exploration of how to arrange the program within these simple massings. Option A became the most desirable solution, offering a mixture of maximizing the amount of units that could be fit onto the site as well as allowing for a through-block lobby, restaurant and central courtyard for the building.
PRECEDENT
Examining current and past examples of how microhousing has been interpreted was crucial to understanding the game. Some submissions to the “adAPT NYC” competition provided the most current notions of microhousing and what amenities should be included to make up for the tight living quarters. During this study, it became very clear which programs needed to be bulked up in my Manhattanville micrhousing proposal. Shared “living” spaces and coworking centers would provide an extremely beneficial social element to the project. Areas to mingle and engage with the microhousing community and the community/ neighborhood at large would be crucial. Based on these studies, these social programs were bulked up for the final design.
TAKING UP SPACE
“Taking Up Space” and “Spectrum” encompass the research portions of this project that focus on the social implications of how we perceive space culturally and how we use it differently around the world. Kowloon is a very intense example of density and small living spaces, but has often been perceived as a very negative “too small” and “cramped” way of living. This was a very intriguing exploration of values and created many interesting discussions of the basic standards required of our spaces. “Per Square Mile” on the next pages was a great resource in terms of opening my eyes to the nature of how we use space and how we could use it more efficiently. When we look to smaller housing alternatives as a solution to overpopulation and the devastating effect that has on our natural resources and the farm-land and open space of the World, the argument is strengthened in many ways. A simple graph and infographic about the ever-increasing average size of the American home and the comparative sizes in different countries around the world brings about a discussion of wastefullness and excess. Different cultures have created societal values that sometimes call for unnecessary amounts of space and could do for a reexamining. We cannot have the discussion of the lifestyle of smaller, more minimal housing options without examining the political landscape that surrounds the topic.
SPECTRUM
METRICS + INTERIOR STANDARDS
M2 | METRICS
18'-6" VITRUVIUS, ARITHMETIC MEAN (12' x 25')
CEILING HEIGHT 13'-6" VITRUVIUS, ARITHMETIC MEAN (12' x 15') 13'-0" TRADITIONAL VICTORIAN / ENGLISH CITY HOUSE 12'-0" TRADITIONAL VICTORIAN / ENGLISH CITY HOUSE
9'-0" AMERICAN STANDARD new construction, approximately 1980s-present 8'-6" 8'-0" 7'-6" 7'-0"
8'-0" AMERICAN STANDARD new construction, approximately 1950s-1960s
7'-0"
8'-0"
8'-6"
9'-0"
12'-0"
2003 NETHERLANDS BUILDING CODE minimum for habitable spaces and rooms 2008 NEW YORK CITY BUILDING CODE minimum for habitable spaces and rooms 2008 NEW YORK CITY BUILDING CODE minimum for occupiable spaces and corridors 2008 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE
13'-6"
18'-6"
BATHROOM ALTERNATIVES
MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
ductwork source of ventilation wet wall bathroom toilet exhaust fan toilet exhaust shaft
electrical closet IT closet
FLOORS 2 through 10
This diagram is an early study of how the HVAC and mechanical systems would be drawn throughout the floors containing the microunits. The air system is very similar to that of a hotel. The air supply and return ducts run along the corridors surrounding the courtyard and branch off into the units, each of which has a Variable Air Volume Reheat unit in the dropped ceiling above the entry.
The plan diagram above shows the finalized version of the VAV reheat unit in the microunit. This plan also includes the reflected ceiling plan: a string of central recessed lights along with strategically placed strip lighting allows for a highly controllable lighting environment. Each built-in has lighting attached to the doors so that it can function efficiently as task lighting.
INSPIRATION
H27D KRAUS SCHOENBERG
SQUARE NINE HOTEL ISAY WEINFELD
9'-0" AMERICAN STANDARD new construction, approximately 1980s-present 8'-0" AMERICAN STANDARD new construction, approximately 1950s-1960s
7'-0"
8'-0"
8'-6"
18'-6"
FAÇADE
The issue of facade can be a rather complicated one. When trying to address and nod to contextual cues, a delicate hand is required. Although a facade and skin for the project was ultimately settled on, I believe that the design could be ever-evolving and any solution has its own pros and cons; the question of facade is never truly answered. The following pages offer a sampling of the studies and iterations of facade and examples of how to pair the context of the old factory district with the new realm of microunits. This pairing ultimately became the most important element of exploration for me.
Looking at examples of buildings that keep a strong street-wall was a key element of research for this project’s facade studies. “H27D” by Kraus Schoenberg Architects and the “Square Nine Hotel” by Isay Weinfeld were two strong examples of modernity within a historic context. A strong street facade paired with a more neutral upper portion became my preferred approach, as seen in the final design on the opposite page.
MATERIALS
The lower level facade and axonometric section of the final facade design are seen to the left. Material studies and precedents of punched opening facades were the focus of research in how to detail this contextual piece. I opted for a medium to dark grey roman brick, specifically “Kolumba 92�, a hand-crafted artisanal masonry produced by Petersen Tegl with the help of architect Peter Zumthor. On the opposite page we see many examples of this size brick in use as well as an image on the bottom left of the stonework of the old Taystee Cake Factory that is currently being torn down. Furthermore, I used a deep, warm wooden frame to define the openings on this facade and to act as a simple Juliet balcony.
AUGUST2013 - MAY2014