In today’s climate, people find themselves isolated from society due to many factors including money, age & immigration patterns. With pressure on societies to deliver 100,000’s of new homes to tackle the housing crisis, can we pre-empt and provoke a new method of design which shapes constantly evolving communities?
Taking forward our shortlisted entry ‘Growhouse’ for the NACSBA ‘Self Build on a Shoestring’ competition, we want to establish a design toolkit that evolves the ideas of co-sharing and integration to create both transient and permanent communities.
Growhouse communities will develop over time, creating platforms which assist with integration and support of people & families in society. Utilising sustainable & new materials including mycelium insulation, we can provide forward thinking, low cost design solutions.
With communities growing at an unprecedented scale, help us showcase these new co-sharing environments which put the residents at the forefront of design.
Design toolkit showcasing the flexibility of our Growhouse concept. Users can choose from many different configurations, adapting to different sites, family sizes and specific user requirements.
Site arrangements can consist of individual clusters to create local communities. Each cluster has a communal ‘grow’ area (A) at the heart of the arrangement. Connecting the clusters together, these areas (C) provide space for residents to host activities, grow produce and interact with neighbours. Prompting better human interaction.
A larger community house (B) reaches out to the wider community. Self build elements of the houses can be carried out here.
The Growhouse concept promotes sustainable living by providing generous outside living spaces and communal areas which create rich and vibrant communities.
To enrich the co-living movement, the design toolkit allows people to build and contribute to their own communities. The design has been rationalised to material sizes and weight limitations which allow users to self-build their own grow house. Using structural integrated panels (SIP) and mycelium insulation, the design adopts the latest pioneering construction methods.
Image highlighting a typical cluster of Growhouses. Showcasing the central heart of the concept and the flexibility of the design toolkit. A rich mixture of single dwellings, community pavilions and stacked apartments create strong varied layouts.
