Much of America is littered with banal, infinitely replicated, identical floor plan multi-family housing. The economic value and repeatable nature of such developments have enabled them to dominate the market, while also subverting any sort of character or uniqueness embedded in the local vernacular. Denver Micro-Housing proposes to break that mold by providing low cost, prefabricated systems allowing for varied forms, scales, and character, while increasing environmental and social performance.
This concept breaks down the building into three primary elements: core/service, units, and skin. Prefabricated unit types “plug in” to the core, allowing for varying scales and configurations that are wrapped in an operable skin to provide a flexible, breathable layer to the building. Units are designed with the potential to interact with other units, recalling the ad hoc nature of several socially integrated housing typologies in history, while promoting a unique public/private dialog that adds both social and economic value.