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Cole O'Brien
Cole O'Brien
cole.obrien.23 [at] gmail.com
My Fall 2020 studio project explores a new solution for social housing in the streets of Mexico City. The proposal is based on the historical connection between Mexico City’s housing and markets – ranging from the migration of Oaxacan craftspeople to the erection to Vecinidades housing, to the proliferation of Tianguis (street markets.) Despite multiple threats, the city’s market culture has persisted and remained a vital part of the city’s lifeblood, providing income to over half of the city’s residents and serving marginalized areas. This proposal recognizes this important ecosystem, as well as the roles of self-expansion, co-ownership and social organization in economic upward mobility for these merchants and their families. This manifests as a literal framework to house these families in the underutilized streetscapes between, above, and beside Mexico City’s existing streetscapes. Within this framework, a self-expanding system of housing, market and support spaces can organize and prosper.
Markets
A cornerstone of Mexico City culture, tianguis (street markets) date back to ancient Colombian times as part of city culture. In Mexico City, this means accounting for some level of income for over half of the city's residents, and serving over 75% in some shopping capacity. The integration of housing and markets in the city has dated back to its earliest periods, when Oaxacan craftspeople immigrated to areas such as Tepito into specially designed merchants housing, dubbed 'vecinidades.' The market's design plays off this history, emphasizing the importance of permanent space, while also retaining the feel, flexibility, and expansion of street markets.
Housing
Like its markets, the proposal's housing builds upon the values of flexibility, self-expansion, and individuality. This is inspired by the scenes of Mexico City's existing landscape - housing that is built by the people in the image of their ideal lifestyle. The ability to add onto a unit, combine units, or build in between them, allows for a unique style of social organization so common in the city's culture today. You can see the progression of what a living quarters might look like over time, expanding from a single wet core in a unit occupied by a single merchant, to expansion and organization as he/she perhaps builds a family, has their cousin move in, gets to know their neighbors, etc.
Support
The integration of housing and markets is made possible by the support spaces in between them. This exists in three distinct versions. The first is staging space for the markets, placed alongside the street in underutilized spaces such as empty lots. The second type exists in the vertical support spaces that allow for vertical accessible circulation, but also carrying utilities vertically throughout the space and housing shared wet core spaces such as communal kitchens or bathrooms. Finally, the self-expansion support spaces are those added by the community over time in order to support each other. This might exist as a ground-level bike sharing program, dining
OBrien Final Studio Submission.pdfPage updated
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