New Life in the Mudd

Twelve empty land lots in the Bahamas were given to the ARC Design IV students. The prompt was to design an affordable housing neighborhood. Each student was assigned their own lot, and therefore had their own design. I was assigned lot #2, which is bounded by a narrow street on the north, a pedestrian walkway on the east and south, and another lot on the west. The concept behind my design was to create a form that distinguished the separation between retail and residence. This explains the reasoning for the opposing shapes of the ground floor versus the residential floors. Next, I began considering the idea of cross ventilation, which ultimately led to my decision of creating long thin bars of built space in order to allow air to flow freely and equally through every unit. The angle of these bars was decided as it decreases the amount of disruption from the other bars, and other buildings. In addition, it allows for more sunlight to enter the units, and ultimately a less obstructed view.

The window design was inspired by the Bahamian Hurricane Shutters. I decided to take the inspiration when designing the window mullions. Ultimately, I used the mullions to protect from sunlight but also distinguish between operable and inoperable windows