as ur local architect i could give 100 answers to this ask. but here is a social housing project i really love.
the most sustainable building is one that already exists, building anything new is inherently bad for the environment (buildings make up 40% of global emissions!).
rather than propose an entirely new building for this public housing project, lacaton & vassal proposed essentially renovating the existing and extending the building outward in the front by adding a layer of these kinda indoor/outdoor living spaces. i love this as a low cost solution that not only raises the economic value of these apartments but also is an incredibly valuable space for the well being of the tenants.
pic of the diagram showing before and after but def encourage taking a look at the pics in the link!
Mar 17, 2024
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My career is in city planning and everyday I see so many cool old buildings that are dilapidated or in disrepair. It's so incredibly sick when things like old tobacco barns, mills, etc. get renovated into libraries, food halls, housing, or offices. More developers & landowners should do this
Mar 27, 2025
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gonna butcher this take As I don’t have relevant readings to hand… let me know if u want them ☺️
But this is most obvious in large-scale architectural elements such as town squares, where co-presence is emphasised thereby promoting commerce in the area. However this also is true for small, domestic architecture, e.g layouts of old English manors emphasise a distinction between master and servant thus perpetuating this class relationship (I assume work has also been done about women’s domestic role in this same vein but I do not know it)
However the bit I think is interesting (and most relevant!) is the notion that architecture’s generative effect on social relationships acted as a catalyst for the development human society at the very beginning of culture. Having a single enclosed space immediately creates a dynamic between resident and outsider, and having multiple enclosed spaces together only further adds to and complexifies the possibLe social relationships that can be established.
Soooo the reason I think houses can be so scary is because by subverting any of the various ways domestic space works, be it through an intrusion (violation of social relationship generated by space), impossibility (Kubrick-style corridors) or some other thing, the very foundational brick of all of our societal structures is shown to be fragile, or whateva 😎 think u get the point yap over
Dec 28, 2024
we need affordable housing, but why does the architecture have to be so ugly
May 18, 2025
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as we all (pi fyi users) know, being into shit is cool.
i’ve been thinking about how in the early days of facebook rather than liking pages you would “become a fan” of them and i just love that verbage. so sweet and precious
Feb 23, 2024
May 22, 2025
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i said that so smoothly and confidently and wasn’t weird at all
Mar 16, 2025