Creating Hexa Homes

For the partner portion of this assignment, Lily and I designed a unit complex that was based on the idea of communal space. We chose the shape of a hexagon, as it is easy to assemble many unit complexes together with this shape. The main feature of these units is that within a group, the units have a communal kitchen that is used for cooking, but also used to build biomaterials that would be used to help build these homes, which relates to our previous research on creating building materials from agricultural byproducts.

In the individual portion of the assignment, I chose to maintain the theme of building in a hexagonal pattern, but broke up the rigidity of the shape. I formed two different group shapes using either two or three sides of the hexagon. Each group has a total of four units, broken up into mixes of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The units all start with the same basic plan, but start to differentiate from each other in height. A one-bedroom unit is one floor, a two-bedroom unit is one and a half floors, and a three-bedroom unit is two floors. For each unit group, there is a semi-public space that contains a communal kitchen with a lounge area and a shared laundry room. Closer to the road is the main public building that contains the material workshop where the farmers can create biomaterials during the off-season to sell for profit. In this building is also a large recreational space that can be used as an event space. Lastly, connecting each unit group are pathways that follow the hexagonal grid that these buildings are organized with. The pathway grid extends beyond the built space, creating a meandering pathway open to the public to engage with the site.

The process of creating this design required several iterations of what the units look like and how to organize them on the site. The connections between buildings also went through several iterations as I worked through how I wanted to work with the hexagonal grid.

Having to stick to a strict 32 units total also posed a challenge for me, as I tried to come up with unit groupings. I played around with two different versions of unit sizes, since I knew I wanted to differentiate between 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units with height.

Despite the struggle, I enjoyed playing around with different ways I could organize the site. One of my favorite parts of my design is the hexagonal-based pathways that spread across the site. I also enjoy the height variation between the buildings. I believe this variation allows for the area to feel almost like a village, which contributes to the community atmosphere that I am trying to create.