ABOUT

This cloud of living units serves as a central hub of the strip district in Pittsburgh PA. Various units cluster together to facilitate interactions between inhabitants. The imposed water flows are based on the site connections to the different types of buildings in the area. Due to the lack of parallel floors and offset units, the irregular walkways lead people to bump into each other. Offset units also creates opportunities of interactions with neighbors; people aren’t limited to meeting the people directly next door, but all the units around. One of our main environmental features is to filter ground and black water through bio-swales so that the water is clean by the time it gets to the river. Similar to our concept of unifying different parts of the strip district, the water flows converge and unify into one main output into the river. The offset levels control the water speed in which the water reaches the ground. This cascade of water creates points of experiential waterfalls and flows. Being on the ground level creates a feeling of being encased by units without actually being within one. This raises the question of interiority and exteriority. People do not have to be inside a building to be a part of it. Usually, the interior walls define a space within, but we attempted to create a space within all the exterior walls.