The modern rental apartment, as anonymous and blank as it often is, still contains an unspoken assumption – that the dwellers therein get along. As urban residents struggle to pay their rising rents, as families fracture and coalesce in myriad ways, as aspiring professionals settle on their first post-college dwellings, they often accept, at least temporarily, residence in a 2-bedroom apartment.From the outset, this is accepted as a less-than-ideal living situation, involving the sharing of common space with a stranger – or with a friend who may morph, unexpectedly, into the Bad Roommate. Common spaces then become fraught sites of contestation, where a dirty spoon left in the sink becomes a cry to battle.How can thoughtful design prevent the formation of enemies? or rather, how can design provide ways to mediate conflict, or, if untenable, make living with your enemy bearable?The guiding principles behind the conflict apartment include maximizing the following:ACCOUNTABILITY – how can design facilitate an equal division of labor required to maintain a living space? how can we build in a system of accountability?COMMUNICATION/INFORMATION – how can design convey emotional states in order to communicate willingness and readiness to engage with the other, and when not to try?NEUTRALITY – when conflict arises, how can we build spaces that offer distance, perspective and calm from the situation?NEGOTIATION – how can design signal and invite dwellers to contribute to common spaces and control their boundaries of interactivity and sharing?
