This project in Somerville, Massachusetts was an exploration of live-work housing in an urban setting.

The site was located in the historic Union Square district. The studio began with a site study of the area and a critique of the current neighborhood plan in place. I decided to focus on live-work housing because of a curiosity about how work lifestyles have developed over time. This project therefore serves as an experiment to test how to design a residential building that also houses a series of exciting and dynamic work spaces to foster a community. 

The site for my building is located on one of the more major proposed blocks in the master plan. My building, as well as two others, were to be placed just North of a new MBTA T stop that would spark transit oriented development in the area. A redesigned plaza and a pedestrian street connecting it to the T plaza serve to slow traffic down and give more space to pedestrians.

My massing strategy sought to provide space for the public as well as a more private courtyard for the users of the building. Hugging the perimeter of the site, the building gives the plaza to the North a street edge condition with retail on the ground floor and pulls back from the pedestrian street to create a smaller plaza between the three buildings. The courtyard is then accessed through the plazas via a combination of ramps and steps that act as a gathering space of their own.