Growth community, HOME 2030
- Location: London, UK.
- Sector: Residential, Mixed-Use
- Client: RIBA
- Size: GLA: 3,700 m2
- Status: RIBA competition.
- Year: 2020
Design inspiration and ideas
A home should reflect the inhabitants and how they live their life. It needs to be able to configure flexibly,
which is not static, but continuously adaptable to suits the inhabitant’s needs. We consider it as dynamic
housing which can be enlarged and improved over time and able to capture
a constant state of changes. The design proposal aims to provide a framework for growth, degrowth, and
changes, as an evolving architecture. Offering a chance for people to build the house they want at low cost,
more sustainable, and quicker to build than traditional homes. Building shape composition will never be
the same through house modules that are modified from time to time, as the facade can also be upgraded
through time.
The core concept is taken from the traditional terraced house but delivered through cutting-edge
prefabrication and modular construction technique. The housing comprises prefabricated modular shells
that are delivered on-site then slotted and stacked on top of each other to form rows of
stacked housing within the provided superstructure.
Sustainable living
It is not only the population that is growing but also food and energy consumption. People need to consciously
think about the product and energy they use. Housing design should consider this and able to
influence the occupants to improve their lifestyle. The size (efficient and fit for purpose), energy use (zero-carbon house), life span (performance) and customizable (growth & degrowth) are the main factors to be
considered.
Living in community vs Privacy
Aristotle the legendary Greek philosopher said, “Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is
unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something
that precedes the individual.” The concept of human as ‘social by nature has given several important
ideas, that human needs other humans to survive and tend to be always ready for social interaction.