ABSTRACT Nowadays given the importance to high education and the possibility to study abroad, students seem to get more and more ambitious, aspiring a brighter future since the very beginning. As the melting pot continues to grow, social interaction becomes one of the key factors that students look for, without disregarding the comfort of privacy in long-term stays. Being so, spaces have to have the flexibility to create different levels of private, common and public character, fulfilling students' desire to multiple and diverse activities, in a quick-changing world. The main goal of cAp is to emerge from students' will to change the world, by changing the world they live in.
SOCIAL LANDSCAPE CAP is not only connected to the existing surroundings, creating new spaces in between, but also creates in the central place of the plot new kinds of spatial connections. The area around the ruin, in the northern part of the plot, is redesigned in order to create the first meeting place. There, the building seems to have a gentle and discrete approach but quickly begins to take advantage of the slope, affirming himself as a new meeting place that gives character to this part of the city. Being so, the students’ desires and interests are materialized through two linear blocks, connected by the central space. The way the two blocks are inserted in the site is also crucial to create tension in the succession of the shared spaces that culminate in a new urban park, a buffer between the building and the highway. A canteen, an exterior amphitheatre, a gym and a study room are thus the spaces created where the social interaction between students will take place. But as we go from this central space towards the limits of the plot, we can see the character of the spaces changing from shared to private, creating a dynamic flow inside the plot limits. Exterior galleries give access to each group of bedrooms and work as an in-between space from social to more private areas. These are intercalated with colorful holes in the facade, not only breaking the length of the blocks, but also adding identity to the building and creating new and flexible places to be appropriated by the students as they wish. Furthermore, the simplicity of the design, with concrete and wood as the main materials, allows the students to differentiate themselves with the way they chose to develop the space they live in, making them part of the architecture itself. The multiplicity of places accepts numerous and different activities to happen, leading each student to feel at home. Being so, social interaction is encouraged, promoting a healthy community, without forgetting the need to have a private space they can call their own.
MODULE Two different modules show the flexibility of the spaces created. The module access is made through the gallery that, being an exterior space, is not included in the interior area of the building. Even so, as the facade is designed with floor to ceiling windows, the inner social space can be extended to the gallery. The main idea is to divide the module in private spaces and social area, strictly shared by the students living in that module. An access volume is built as the entrance from the gallery and leads to the social area divided in a small living room and a space designed to the mealtime. The module gets then divided in different bedrooms, one double and two or three single
ones, creating modules of four to five students. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, closet and
a space to study. The bedrooms windows face the surroundings, allowing privacy and a calmer
space to sleep and study. As the space is mainly divided by the services enclosed by wooden panels, the construction has a pre-fabricated logic, that allows these walls to be simultaneously done as the structure is constructed on site, diminishing the time of construction by 56% of the standard construction time. Also it will improve quality and reduce construction costs.
FLEXIBILITY has been one of the aims of our proposal since the beginning, not only in the common spaces, but also in the module and in what the building can become in the future. Consequently, the student housing can be converted in long-term housing, ensuring a longer lifespan of the building and challenging advances of the market. Modules can be developed into apartments from T0 to T3, making the target group as vast as it can get. The meal preparation area is converted into a proper kitchen and bedrooms are linked, becoming master suites as desired. Being so, the main idea and appearance of the building is kept, even if the target group is changed.
ABSTRACT Nowadays given the importance to high education and the possibility to study abroad, students seem to get more and more ambitious, aspiring a brighter future since the very beginning. As the melting pot continues to grow, social interaction becomes one of the key factors that students look for, without disregarding the comfort of privacy in long-term stays. Being so, spaces have to have the flexibility to create different levels of private, common and public character, fulfilling students’ desire to multiple and diverse activities, in a quick-changing world. The main goal of cAp is to emerge from students’ will to change the world, by changing the world they live in.
SOCIAL LANDSCAPE CAP is not only connected to the existing surroundings, creating new spaces in between, but also creates in the central place of the plot new kinds of spatial connections. The area around the ruin, in the northern part of the plot, is redesigned in order to create the first meeting place. There, the building seems to have a gentle and discrete approach but quickly begins to take advantage of the slope, affirming himself as a new meeting place that gives character to this part of the city. Being so, the students’ desires and interests are materialized through two linear blocks, connected by the central space. The way the two blocks are inserted in the site is also crucial to create tension in the succession of the shared spaces that culminate in a new urban park, a buffer between the building and the highway. A canteen, an exterior amphitheatre, a gym and a study room are thus the spaces created where the social interaction between students will take place. But as we go from this central space towards the limits of the plot, we can see the character of the spaces changing from shared to private, creating a dynamic flow inside the plot limits. Exterior galleries give access to each group of bedrooms and work as an in-between space from social to more private areas. These are intercalated with colorful holes in the facade, not only breaking the length of the blocks, but also adding identity to the building and creating new and flexible places to be appropriated by the students as they wish. Furthermore, the simplicity of the design, with concrete and wood as the main materials, allows the students to differentiate themselves with the way they chose to develop the space they live in, making them part of the architecture itself. The multiplicity of places accepts numerous and different activities to happen, leading each student to feel at home. Being so, social interaction is encouraged, promoting a healthy community, without forgetting the need to have a private space they can call their own.
MODULE Two different modules show the flexibility of the spaces created. The module access is made through the gallery that, being an exterior space, is not included in the interior area of the building. Even so, as the facade is designed with floor to ceiling windows, the inner social space can be extended to the gallery. The main idea is to divide the module in private spaces and social area, strictly shared by the students living in that module. An access volume is built as the entrance from the gallery and leads to the social area divided in a small living room and a space designed to the mealtime. The module gets then divided in different bedrooms, one double and two or three single
ones, creating modules of four to five students. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, closet and
a space to study. The bedrooms windows face the surroundings, allowing privacy and a calmer
space to sleep and study. As the space is mainly divided by the services enclosed by wooden panels, the construction has a pre-fabricated logic, that allows these walls to be simultaneously done as the structure is constructed on site, diminishing the time of construction by 56% of the standard construction time. Also it will improve quality and reduce construction costs.
FLEXIBILITY has been one of the aims of our proposal since the beginning, not only in the common spaces, but also in the module and in what the building can become in the future. Consequently, the student housing can be converted in long-term housing, ensuring a longer lifespan of the building and challenging advances of the market. Modules can be developed into apartments from T0 to T3, making the target group as vast as it can get. The meal preparation area is converted into a proper kitchen and bedrooms are linked, becoming master suites as desired. Being so, the main idea and appearance of the building is kept, even if the target group is changed.
