Pick a coconut from your bedroom window
A new model of housing for multi-generational families and intentional communities
Green House brings a new model of communal living to Boston, one that is equally relevant to two distinct audiences:
multi-generational families that want to cohabitate & people looking for the affordabiliy and companionship of co-living.
What would typically be three separate homes share a communal ground floor that contains: dining, living, laundry and, either a “grandmother flat” or a home business. Each unit can be accessed from the first floor by a private stair that leads to their bedrooms.
The housing is paired with a public greenhouse-promenade that creates a mid-block shortcut, extending the community beyond the dwelling. This greenhouse allows the residents to grow a significant amount of food or flowers, and could be used to provide garden plots for neighbors as well. In Boston’s cold climate it provides a taste of the tropics year-round.
What would typically be three separate homes share a communal ground floor that contains: dining, living, laundry and, either a “grandmother flat” or a home business. Each unit can be accessed from the first floor by a private stair that leads to their bedrooms.
The housing is paired with a public greenhouse-promenade that creates a mid-block shortcut, extending the community beyond the dwelling. This greenhouse allows the residents to grow a significant amount of food or flowers, and could be used to provide garden plots for neighbors as well. In Boston’s cold climate it provides a taste of the tropics year-round.
Green House =
One-Third Greenhouse + Two-Thirds House
One-Third Greenhouse + Two-Thirds House
The Site Plan, showing the arrangement of the greenhouse & the house
Site Plan
Year round tropics within the greenhouse arcade, which can be opened in the warm months
First Floor Plan, Living Room Zoom
Second Floor Plan, Bedroom Zoom
A portion of the extensive gardens could be rented to the broader community to generate revenue for the residents
A long section cut through the greenhouse-promenade
The height of the Green House alternates from a single-story to three-stories in step with the housing. This creates opportunities for tall plants & hanging plants, while establishing a human-scale
Work-live: a third of the ground floor is given over to a “grandmother flat” or a small business (or a hybrid of both, as shown here)
The space between the upper living units allows for the bedrooms to have operable windows on two sides
A short section cut through the roof deck, bedrooms, living room, and three-story green house.
A short section cut through the communal kitchen showing the windows of the bedrooms beyond
Morning in the communal kitchen: the building is constructed of cross laminated timber (CLT), a low-carbon mass-timber structural system that has the additional benefits of wood’s warmth & beauty
Client
Private
Timeline
2018Status
CompleteLocation
Boston, MassachusettsServices
ArchitectureLandscape Architecture
Interior Design
Furniture Selection