Zixuan Lin

The project aims to promote rich communal living between residents and create a harmonious and meaningful environment for collaborative living.

Communal spaces are embedded between residential buildings at different scales. With the program of a courtyard layout, residents will be given the opportunity to participate in activities happening in the centre of the complex with all the large communal spaces based on the YIRPs in there, including a grocery store, a gym, a childcare centre and a pet space. The layout is designed so that residential units surround the central square to ensure the safety of the central activity space from visual observation, while also ensuring that each residential unit has a view out of the site. The south-west corner of the whole complex is lifted with library and café on upper floors to allow easier access from the site to the park on the south.

Timber structure is used in the project, with modularity in design to lower the cost. Combined with recyclable polycarbonate panels, it makes the communal spaces feel light, warm, open and welcoming. The free-flowing communal spaces and the outdoor areas in between provide adaptability for functions to be redesigned. All the components in the communal spaces can be disassembled and rearranged according to future changes.

Each residential building has smaller shared spaces like laundry and workspace on each level. The walls of the units are fully demountable and reusable, allowing future expansion if the residents have more household members. Through this structure system, the project is trying to achieve both adaptability and flexibility in this collective community.