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Patchwork

Part 1 Project 2014
Martha Claudia Carini
University of Greenwich | UK
Today, London is going through a critical housing crisis due to rising prices and a lack of space. The design of PATCHWORK aims to propose a new way of living within the city of London. PATCHWORK is a "town" of privately owned tiny houses, located in the heart of Shoreditch. What are tiny houses? The growth and development of tiny houses has developed immensely with The Tiny House Movement. The Tiny House Movement, a social movement which developed in the United States of America during the Foreclosure Crisis in 2008, is now introduced to London!

The configuration of PATCHWORK'S structure is a steel and concrete grid which supports a vertical community of tiny houses, arranged and designed as a village community. All five levels of PATCHWORK are a flexible platform which can be easily rented for a certain amount of time by any tiny house owner who drives into London.

PATCHWORK houses approximately 80 tiny house lots, a double height communal hall, a chapel, a launderette, several piazzas and gardens. A central elevator and a system of staircases provide services to the individual tiny houses and interior streets. The stiarcases have been purposely placed on the east and west end of the building, thus to extend the inhabitant's journey. By doing so, the design hopes to resemble the journey one may take through a village and therefore reinforce the sense of community. The design of PATCHWORK challenges the tradition of Modern architecture which often creates homogenized residential buildings, thus eliminating the possibility for urban dwellers to express themsleves throughout the building. To resolve this lack of individuality, the facade of PATCHWORK is made of a collage of tiny homes. PATCHWORK's architecture is flexible and constantly changing.

Martha Claudia Carini

Tutor(s)

2014
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