Polemic

Polemic
New York is one of the largest cities in the world brimming with life at every corner. It is often marketed in television shows, movies, and the mass media as the place for young single people to live and connect with one another. However, New York can be a very lonely city if you do not have roots here. I speak from personal experience.

Prior to moving to Brooklyn (DUMBO) in 2005, I lived in a small rural community in Vermont. Even though I lived alone in Middlebury, I always knew that I was a part of the local community. I immediately felt the impact of this loss when I arrived in New York. It was like the loss of an old friend.

Over the past two years, I have been attempting to find my niche and to connect with a new community. I go to the local coffee house daily, I go to weekly yoga classes, and I have joined the neighborhood gym. Yet in DUMBO, because the neighborhood is new and constantly changing, this is a challenge. Moreover, DUMBO lacks many traditional neighborhood features that people who live in the neighborhood frequent regularly. There is no grocery store, pharmacy, local watering hole, etc. What does exist are high end boutique clothing and food stores.

In response to my personal experience in New York, I have decided to develop a cohousing project for people that want to live sustainably in DUMBO. The residents will be committed to living and working together towards a common goal. In this case, each resident is dedicated to living sustainably. This implies sustainable building materials and systems, decreased energy used, maximization of daylight, reduced consumption of both consumer goods and space required to live, extensive recycling programs, and a commitment to eating and living healthy through regular exercise and the consumption of organic food. In a sense, the community will be able to sustain itself while minimizing its impact on the local and global environment.

This project is based on Danish cohousing models and is inspired by Le Corbusier Unite d’ Habitation, R. M Schindler’s House, and the Smithson’s proposal for Golden Lane. It is my hope that through this housing project people young and old, single and married, will be able to connect and form a community together within their “home” as well as within the larger neighborhood of DUMBO.

Unfortunately, I am not alone in this plight. The notion of community no longer exists for many. Due to global surges in housing costs and the increasing mobility of the population, community ties have been broken. Our population has become transient with shallow roots. As a result, many do not feel like they belong to a community.

The traditional cohousing model was pioneered in Denmark. The Danes were frustrated by the available housing options and the loss of community. They were bothered by the isolation and impracticalities of single family homes and apartments. In response, they built housing that combines the autonomy of private dwellings with the advantages of community living (McCamant and Durrett 1988). Within each community, every resident has a self sufficient private apartment. Each apartment has sleeping, living, bathing, and cooking space. However, the majority of the living happens in the community house. The community house contains the communal kitchen, dining room, laundry facilities, etc. The amenities offered vary from project to project based on resident needs and goals. In each case, the individual apartments are connected to the communal amenities through a spine, or pedestrian street. Residents pass through this street on a daily basis to and from their homes. Much of the living happens in this space especially in the communities where the “street” is enclosed.

This idea of a pedestrian street was also important in both Le Corbusier and the Smithson’s work. In both cases, they elevated the street, and more broadly the spaces where people live, into the air. This became an integral part of their designs. For Corbusier, the street was a place to shop for daily needs. The Smithson’s approach to the “street”, or the “deck”, as they called it is much closer to Danish cohousing models. For the Smithson’s, each “deck” belonged to approximately ninety residents and was an integral living space recreating the stoop in the air.

Even though each cohousing project is different from the next there are some commonalities to note and consider beyond the “street”. First and foremost, the physical design of each community is meant to encourage a strong sense of community. The design promotes interaction between people through visual connection to the common areas. Transitions between public and private are critical. If the boundary is too firm and rigid, people will be less likely to interact with one another. However if the boundary is soft, interaction will be encouraged. The materiality of the project is critical in defining these boundaries. This boundary might be transparent or porous depending on the level of privacy desired. In the same way, the margin between the building and the larger community must be negotiated.

Beyond these issues of public versus private and the materiality that is implied, architectural flexibility should be considered. A variety of dwelling sizes and configurations allow residents to move within the community as their needs change. Resident stability is a key ingredient to a successful community.

In terms of site, I have chosen one warehouse from the old empire stores in DUMBO because of its endless potential. Beyond the breathtaking views of Manhattan and the accessibility to nature, the modularity of the buildings windows and columns suggests future expansion of my project beyond building seven to the rest of the buildings in the group. In addition, this site offers retail opportunities on Water Street. With retail at street level, the community within the building will be able to reach beyond its borders into the greater community.

As a result of Danish cohousing projects and other projects like them, the meaning of “home”, “neighborhood”, and “community” have been expanded and redefined. Furthermore, the boundary between public and private has been blurred.