marissa perez architecture
Green House
SITE
Springfield, OR
Spring 2022 | Professor Clay Neal | Marissa Perez
The goal of this project is to reimagine affordable communal housing in a more sustainable and economically feasible way. This concept resembles a small-scale cityscape that replicates the feel of European mews homes within Springfield's urban sprawl. By concentrating on the balance of replicable building units and its relationship with native green space, I'm hoping for a dynamic community that still has areas for privacy and individualism within units.
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The green space around the housing will be planted full of indigenous, edible species, to act as a hedge row for the surrounding garden space. This attracts native pollinators to the garden plots, while giving the residential community opportunities to harvest native species and practice bioregionalism. Not only does this provide beautiful green space between units, but it physically ties the community to the garden in a reciprocal relationship.
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The housing clusters are organized by four central double-loaded corridor units oriented towards a central courtyard. Because these units are one and two bedroom units, it allows for a central area for communal events, and eyes towards individual garden plots.
The family-oriented housing is on the perimeter of the central units, with small, more individualized pathways that lead to personal front porches. By alternating the entrance of the units, both sides of the units are activated as a “front porch” for better utilization of the green space. The oscillating saw roofs allow for ample daylighting opportunities even between dense units. With the pathways oriented North to South, individual front porches have a more democratic use of natural light.
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The horizontal roadway that splits the residential in half, leads to the central courtyard to provide a larger community space that has easy wayfinding and provides a direct root to Gracie’s Kitchen, to further tie in the importance of native land and harvesting within the community.
