Innovative Affordable Housing Studio | Spring 2025 | Professor Thomas Barrie FAIA
A Proposition for Communal Living
“The Student Habitat project explores affordability, density, and social engagement through courtyard housing comprising single-room-occupancy, micro-units, and cottage apartments. It applies Missing Middle Housing principles to create a lowrise, high-density community that promotes walkability and community.”
01. Where?
618 Chappell Dr
The site sits on the edge of NC State University and is well connected by existing public transit, including Wolfline buses and GoRaleigh services. It is also located along the planned Bus Rapid Transit corridor, which will further improve regional accessibility.
Land Use
01. Why?
Enrollment grows steadily, but housing doesn’t keep pace
On-campus housing serves fewer than 25% of students
Rents near campus have outpriced most students
Existing housing lacks shared space and liveability
Existing
Parkwood Village
Avery Close Apartments
Crest Town Homes
Parkwood Village
Crest Town Houses
Parkwood Village
The site is surrounded by large surface parking lots that dominate the ground plane and disconnect buildings from one another. While there is visible green space, much of it functions as leftover or residual space with no clear purpose or activation. These conditions contribute to a fragmented and underutilized urban fabric.
Crest Town Houses
Avery Close Apartments
03. How?
We began by conducting a student survey to understand current housing needs, daily routines, and preferences. The program was shaped directly by these responses. For planning and spatial organization, we drew from Christopher Alexander’s design principles to guide form, hierarchy, and relationships between shared and private spaces.
STUDENT SURVEY
Respond to Users (70 Responses)
Program Planning
Listen to the Experts
Site Plan
Chappell Drive
Where do you currently live?
How do you primarily commute to campus?
Would you Consider Co-living if rent is lower?
Would you prefer car-free housing with enhanced bike and pedestrian infrastructure?
Number of Roommates?
Housing Typology?
Micro-Units 15 units (1 person each)
Cottage Court Houses 8 units (1–2 persons each)
Shared Apartments 15 units (3–4 persons each)
Total Housing 78 beds (39 Beds/Acre)
Apartments
Communal Kitchen & Dining
Laundry Room
Courtyard to Eat
Courtyard to Rest
Precedents
Location : Vienna, Austria
Area : 9499 sqm (2.34 acres)
Year : 2022
Architect : Buschina & Partner
Sunflower Houses, Austria
Precedents
Location : Deer Isle, Maine
Area : 40 acres
Year : 1961
Architect : Edward Larrabee Barnes
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Maine
Pattern Language
Planning based on Christopher Alexander’s Principles
106. Positive Outdoor Space
Outdoor areas must be spatially defined by buildings, forming convex, legible “outdoor rooms” rather than leftover voids.
114. Heirarchy of Open Spaces
Organize open spaces in a gradient from private to public, ensuring spatial clarity and social function.
Planning
115. Courtyards which Live
Courtyards must be functional, sunlit, and connected to active interior uses—never just ornamental voids.
119. Arcade
Arcades act as shaded, semi-open transitions that define edges, support pedestrian flow, and mediate thresholds.
