rafael berges proposal rejects individual living unit as basis for collective living

residual living is an urban housing proposal by new york-based architect rafael berges that rejects the individual unit as the basis for collective living and instead proposes the shared interstitial space between housing units as the generator of public life. the cracks formed between units redefine the threshold between the public and domestic realm.

housing is the threshold that defines our public and domestic lives and it is, therefore, the point where the public realm begins. if the aggregation of housing is re-shifted to provide ‘in-between’, or interstitial spaces between units, then new types of public realms can be created. if one’s conception of public is smaller, then one has more agency over that public space becoming domesticated.

‘neighbor scale’ rendering

new york city is the quintessential embodiment of modern conceptions of collectivity and densification. over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries the evolution of the city’s housing emphasized the aggregation of residential units to maximize lot coverage, access to light & air, and proper egress. this approach resulted in highly individualized housing units existing as separate entities that do not relate to one another except through shared corridors and party walls. 

site plan

the site chosen by rafael berges for his proposal is a manhattan city block that sits between old law tenements and towers in the park typologies, naturally evoking an in-between condition. each lot is filled with the same sized unit and is arranged to cover the same lot area. this aggregation method creates a variety of spaces between the units in plan and in section, where the character of the interior is juxtaposed with that of the in-between spaces. the interiors are rectilinear and modular while the in-between spaces are curved to envelop volumes of space—these spaces become the focal point of the design.

volumes of space are created between units 

these volumes of space fall into two main categories: the neighborhood scale and the neighbor scale. the neighbor scale is where the units are most densely packed to create close proximities between units where more intimate interactions can occur between two units. the neighborhood scale is where 3 or more units are loosely packed to create larger volumes of space with visual continuity across them. balconies become an extension of the domestic space held within each unit and walkways connect units across larger spaces. the result is an urban, multi-family housing that enriches human plurality by blurring the boundaries between public and domestic space in order to allow the human condition to flow more seamlessly between the two realms.

section/plan drawing 

exploded axon of a 4-unit fragment

interior and exterior spaces have distinct material characters 

4-unit fragment 

model

4-unit fragment plan 

unit plans

site isometric massing

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edited by: juliana neira | designboom