In urban housing complexes you are not allowed to choose your neighbors. The Co-Connect House by Hugo Kohno Architect Associates tries to offer connection and an appropriate distance between property residents. This includes temporary tenants and long-term owners.
Covering 219 square meters, every unit is made out of interlinked boxy rooms. Units are being strung together in line with a marginal courtyard, which is a passage between pair of volumes. Also, small boxes are linked to larger boxes. Small boxes act as benches, bay windows, balconies, really small rooms and counters. Southern light is brought into every single room.
The marginal courtyards are shared between the residents. We are looking at a design that utilizes elevation in order to create different architecture levels. Two rental units are interlocking and they both have living spaces in the south side, second floor and ground level. Boxes are divided so that the resident can easily move from a box to the next. A depth sensation is created as people move from one room to the next.
The urban living space boxes are of standardized sizes. They function as completely uniform living spaces. Even so, altering connections and arrangements makes it possible to get different designs. This includes resident physical scale and streetscape. Designers have no problem in adapting to site conditions and design. With this in mind, the Co-Connect House manages to offer a really interesting solution for different living spaces.
Photographs: Seiichi Ohsawa
