DENSITY + QUALITY OF LIFE

Patrick Simpson

DUE TO THE CHRONIC HOUSING SHORTAGES EXPERIENCED BY MANY LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST DECADE, THE MISSION OF THIS PROPOSAL IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COMMON GROUND STUDIO WAS THE DESIGN OF MID- TO HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING THAT COULD BE "DISSOLVED" TO AVOID THE INTERPERSONAL ISOLATION THAT MANY HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE ENCOURAGED BY BUILDING TO MAXIMUM PARAMETERS. CREATING MANY POINTS THROUGHOUT THE COMPLEX FOR SHADED OUTDOOR SPACE THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS' INTERACTIONS COULD FOSTER THE IDEA OF A "VILLAGE WITHIN A CITY". WHILE MAXIMUM DENSITY WAS NOT THE OBJECTIVE, THIS PROPOSAL GENERATES A PROJECT WITH 440 UNITS OF HOUSING THAT COULD ALSO FILL THE ROLE OF A "DESTINATION" ON THE LIGHT RAIL, CREATING A LINK BETWEEN THIS CURRENT PARK & RIDE SITE AND THE UPCOMING REDEVELOPMENT OF METRO CENTER A FEW BLOCKS TO THE WEST. CREATING HOUSING AND A MORE WALKABLE SCALE OF COMMUNITY NODES WERE HIGH ON THE LIST OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX'S PRIORITIES FOR THIS SITE, AND INTERACTION WITH SOME OF THE LEADERS OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HELPED TO FORMALIZE THE FINAL PRESENTATION FOR THE FALL 2022 COMMON GROUND STUDIO.