Suburban Intimacy
Architectural Design VII • 2035 Suburban Future
GSAPP Columbia • Summer 2021 • Partner: Zihan Xiao
Instructor: Emmett Zeifman
Sometime in one of our distant futures or in the past of another universe, the city has been emancipated from the ground. In this world, architecture is given new agency: it is site-less, indeterminate, a free particle that defies conventional principles of material permanence. The buildings of this timeline float above the old ground, vestiges of civilizations that have since disappeared. In these communities, people and cultures from all walks of life are welcome.
Bar Housing
What is suburban? Suburban is Community Intimacy. We believe community intimacy is something that makes suburban suburban. This project proposes a new housing typology that provides a more urban and collective organization in the site. More importantly, Suburban Intimacy tried to address the increasing demand for higher-density housing while maintaining the suburbs' community. With such promise, the project also further discusses and implements other aspects of suburban, such as property ownership, water recycling, transportation infrastructure, etc.
The architecture is an aggregation of different styles and eras long past: imperial China, diesel-punk airships, downtown Tokyo, and American roadside architecture all come together on this flying object—and as it moves, it grows, collecting more of these historical fragments. The architecture of this world is constantly changing; it is not defined by when or where. Like the clouds, these vestiges are ephemeral but vibrant: a re-imagination of what our cities could be.
Flat Housing