This housing project is a prototype of an urban neighbourhood made from soil-friendly construction methods and materials that return to the soil. The project offers an alternative way of building and living in a suburban area, based on a sense of belonging to a community. It is inspired by the notion of Co-Dividuality, redefining the relationship between the inside and the outside, the private, shared and public, and what is in between. While the private space is confined to the scale of the bedroom, the shared areas can be subdivided into smaller units, potentially shared by families. The kitchen and the living room and multi-activity rooms are shared. The building’s structure is made of local timber. To enhance thermal mass and regulate indoor climate, hemp-earth filling is employed. Wood is also used for insulation purposes, and the facade is composed of burnt timber, creating a distinctive aesthetic appearance between the shared and private areas.
As opposed to the current urbanization strategy of the city, based on the tabula-rasa of the existing urban fabric, the project aims to create a productive neighbourhood by infiltrating the area with vegetable and botanic gardens, orchards, and forests. The objective is to create a vibrant and sustainable community that actively engages in food production.