The habitat as home - the core concept of a dwelling that seeks to anchor a community, not turn a blind eye to the challenges social housing may pose. While multigenerational housing represents the liberation of the working class from traditional family typologies of living, in part by promoting a mobility as “stepping stone” platforms for its residents while simulateously offering an economic alternative to standalone single family residence, the perception of this typology can, by its nature, leave out a core concept of the dwelling - stability and permanence.
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We saw the necessity of social housing as a duality of ownership. Connection to Austin’s city fabric is vital to instill the public with accountability for the block, reducing chances of future degradation. This must be coupled with a degree of privacy for the residents, not only in response to the harsh boundaries of the metrorail, but also in favor of encouraging traditional housing typologies such as the single family home. Our project relies on the understanding that the multitude of user groups requires different relationships with the city, and we believe that by balancing the block as both urban fabric and sanctuary, in addition to instilling ideas of ownership of the ground plane, we may productively generate ideas of permanence for the residents, and transition social housing to a viable home.
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With an ode to Jane Jacob’s principle of “Eyes on the Street,” the project integrates the programmatic aspects of its public functions into a porous, contextually engaging ground floor to create an environment that organically encourages autonomy and self-suffciency. By engaging the ground as a public domain, the residents have a social threshold that encourages community participation, thus shifting the negative perception of the “low-income resident” to that of unity and equal democratic forum, while eliminating notions of their impermanence in comparison to their context.