Advanced Design Studio 02   Spring '15

The Advanced Design Studio 2 was an online course organized by Professor Aaron Jones. The studio aims to address the architectural implications of an aging population. This body of work examines the roles of a homeowner and their interrelationships with space. Comprehending these relationships is an aspect of present day modernity and therefore embraces the studio inquiry with notions of contemporary culture.

The class was asked to design a residential home that provides a flexible and functional layout in order to respond to the present and future needs of a single-family residence. Our research reveals an average of seven people lived in an 800 square foot household during the 1800’s in the US. Today, an average of three live in a 2,300 square foot household and are expected to move eleven times in their lifespan. One of the many reasons why homeowners move is because the house is too small or too big. The family dynamic changes but the home is constant. Instead of building homes based on preconceived ideas, why not design homes based on the evolving family dynamic?

The objective of the studio was to design a home that is equipped with low maintenance, sustainable materials to fit the range between first-time and experienced homeowners. The idea of individual empowerment was of highest importance. The proposal of the home is intended to give the homeowner complete control of the floor plan. Structural steel posts at the perimeter of the floor slab allow the floor plan to breathe and enable the user to shrink or expand spaces as needed. Walls have the ability to move within the orthogonal floor plate and lock into place. This approach offers the aesthetics of movement, simplicity, and sensitivity to site and nature.

I learned the significance of a home and how a family interacts and lives within its spaces. Designing a home with expandable walls present the ideas of mechanism and craft I obtained from the studio. I enjoy understanding the concepts of construction methodology. These experiences will expand my curiosity and inspire to investigate further into contemporary culture and residential home design.