THE COMPLEX

Individual Work - Revit / Photoshop / Physical Modelling

The multi-family complex was the final project during our Housing Studio in Spring 2016 semester. It was a residential project that aimed to provide affordable and diverse apartment units that are up to ADA standards, while also trying to revitalize an industrial area. The site was at Lower Price Hill in Cincinnati. This project can be seen as a branch of the huge gentrification wave that is currently taking place in the city.

Lower Price Hill area in Cincinnati is known to be very industrial and is not utilized to its very potential. This site, hence, lacked culture and was almost a blank paper for us to design on. However, the lack of facilities around created

Pulling people to habitat this space would be the first step in revitalizing the area, so the facilities chosen and the design carried the pressure of defining the future culture and the demographic qualities of the area.

I grew up in inner Istanbul, where the city surrounds you and provides for you. In Lower Price Hill, the case was opposite. There wasn’t any space for people to get out of their apartment for without depending on a car. Hence, I wanted my design to mimic this idea of urban living. I added facilities such as a grocery store with a coffee shop or an outdoors pool that would push people to come outside and be part of a society. The building also includes a storage space that is created to resemble heavy columns and is wrapped with perforated metal to lighten up the space. The rootfop includes a glass squash court, little event spaces that could be rented out, a sculpture garden, and a stepped vegetation garden.

The apartments include little hang out areas infront of their doors to encourage contact with their neighbors. The ramp that covers the south facade creates a slow progression through the building, which in return creates more communication with the rest of the building.

The building has eight floors plus a rooftop area. The ground floor is only for public use and the next seven floors are for apartments. There are three types of apartments in the building that are a combination of one bedroom and two bedrooms. One of the apartments is designed to be more affordable than the others. The complex also plays around with ideas for different types of designs such as a duplex or a floor plan that is centered around a glass fireplace.

South Elevation