Luke Hughes — Block share

From here the viewer sees the garden and beyond into the creche and workspace. The close proximity between these space allows residents to easily split time between work and childcare.

Block share — Break Bread Together. By Luke Hughes

Location

London

Objective

To create a holistic environment for informal care, through an architecture that provides opportunities for interaction via cooking, eating and growing.

Motivation

Housing in the UK is highly segregated, forcing people at different life stages into specific housing types and exacerbating issues of loneliness and care in the home.

Strategy

Block Share distributes a spectrum of private and public spaces throughout the co-housing scheme, from the most private generous bedspace, to dining spaces shared by a few residents, to large communal areas such as gardens and workspaces shared by the whole block. Kitchens form key communal spaces where residents from different age groups can come together to break bread. Across the building, levels of privacy at thresholds are mediated by curtains and doors.

Impact

Block Share aims to inspire a future housing typology that allows users from different age groups to form both the intimate and informal bonds that make up a community.

The ground floor hosts the shared utility, workspace and creches. Designed to allow people to work from home and meet others from the block.

This level contains accommodation for families and active third agers. Each age group has a seperate living space and share a kitchen located at the heart of the floorplate.

Opening partitions between the kitchen and living spaces allow spaces to be opened up to feel like one space or closed when required to be moved private.

The rooftop hosts the same functions as the GF. With the addition of an outdoor kitchen, glasshouses and an enlarged creche.

On the rooftop the cycle of growing cooking and eating can be seen from one place.

 Further work 

• Critical Practice Manifesto – City of the citizens
• Design Think Tank – Home Economics
• Design History – 12a Dalby Square
• Design Cities – Portfolio