Architecture

People living with disabilities in the United States account for 26% of the population, of which 13.7% have mobility related disabilities with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. In the United States, people with disabilities officially accessed their civil rights in 1990, which had previously been withheld from them. In the last 30 years there has been progress in the enaction of those rights. However, the gap remains between accessible design and inclusive/ universally designed space.

Dajia Hao [大家好] is a common greeting that directly translates to ‘Everyone Welcome’. It is exactly the sentiment that this work aims to portray. This project takes a speculative approach to design solutions for residential units that are inclusive of people with mobile disabilities. A configurable core design, with a bathroom, kitchen, and storage and/or other utility solutions, is the anchor of the residence. The configurable core allows each household to address their unique needs and conveniences.

Applying these configured units to cohousing provides a solution to many of the related socio-environmental issues faced by people with mobile disabilities, locally in Boston. Solutions include residences that are accessible and convenient for inhabitants and visitors, opportunities to build social capital in space through shared balconies, community spaces, shared and/or short-term rental units, and possible small businesses on site.

This project entitled radical rooms was a prompt to untangle patterns of understanding and opportunities for change when it comes to residential architecture - through conventional plans, axons and sectional elevations, and self-devised hybrid drawings. The fundamental kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are spaces that exist in all homes, but take on different conventions based on tradition and culture.

Rooms of My Childhood, and Precedent Rooms paved the way for Rooms of the Future that bring forward questions of household demographics and organization, redefined spatial requirements, and the possibilities of multipurpose infrastructure.