THE MODULAR DWELLING The new single-family dwellings are composed of three basic units of core, courtyard, and flex modules. A combination of modules form variations of houses that range between 3 to 5 unit-length houses. The interior corridor simply runs along one edge for the entire length of the house with individual rooms along the opposite edge in a row – a reference towards the shotgun house floor plan that is vernacular to New Orleans. The interior corridor is mirrored onto the roof as a rooftop walkway alongside an adjacent green roof.
THE MECHANICAL SYSTEM The modular dwellings are designed as self-regulating organisms with the ability to process rain and flood waters. Each dwelling is equipped with an exoskeleton that functions as both a structural lattice and a filtration system. Buoyancy of the dwellings are achieved through a concrete and foam slab system with a large crawl space and stability weights are provided by water collection tanks in the crawl space. As each dwelling floats, it begins to “shed off” the exoskeleton, leaving it behind as an anchor to the foundation. It keeps large debris from floating underneath the floating slab and provides structure to guide the lowering of the dwelling to its original position once floodwaters recede.
Neighbouring dwellings have one end module sitting adjacent and perpendicular to another’s courtyard module. This is the basic rule for the aggregation of the entire community. The arrangement ensures that adjacent rooftop walkways are connected and the roof network is engaged when a flood occurs. Although floating as individual houses, the network of roofs transform into a single communal and semi-public space to provide vital communal connections in emergency. The community thus alternates between a cluster of independent elements and a formalized branched network.
Rainwater is harvested on the green roof to be reused as appropriated inside and outside the dwelling. Greywater is drained and pumped into the exoskeleton, which is composed of modular structural casings enclosing drainage tubes. Gravity distributes the greywater through the exoskeleton, move the water through layers of filtration embedded within the exoskeleton system from top to bottom. When it reaches grade, it is released into the modular wetland system that is installed around the perimeter of each dwelling that acts as both domestic landscaping and a household scale flood buffer.
WALL SECTION W TRAVERSE A AXIS
BASIC MODULES: core courtyard flex space
CORE COURT FLEX +
ROOF ASSEMBLY L 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
+
EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOF MODULAR PLASTIC CONTAINING T UNIT CORRUGATED A METAL T DECK WATERRPOOFING MEMBRANE WA RIGID INSULATION A FLASHING WOOD DECK STEEL REVEAL STEEL BEAM GYPSUM BOARD INTERIOR CEILING DRAINING PIPE
WALL ASSEMBLY W L
UNITS 3 modules 4 modules
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
A 3-MODULE UNIT
GYPSUM W WALL INTERIOR FINISH POTABLE T WATER FILTR WA L A ATION UNIT RIGID INSULATION A VAPOUR BARRIER V STEEL STUDS STEEL CHANNEL POLY L CARBONATE A EXTERIOR CLADDING
INFRASTRUCTURAL LAT A TICE 19 20 21 22 23
B
INNER LAT A TICE OUTTER LAT A TICE CONSTRUCTED WETLAND WATER TESTING AREA WA CONCRETE CURB
FLOOR 24 25 26
5 modules
CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB CRAWL A SPA P CE POTABLE T WATER STORAGE TANKS WA T
FOUNDATION A 27 28
C
STEEL GRATE A FOUNDATION A
CIRCULATION on roof
CONNECTIONS between units
4-MODULE UNIT
5-MODULE UNIT
PRE-FLOOD SECTION showing the elevation differences between residential units and public sector
EXTERIOR EX EXT E X XT TERI ER ERI E R RIIO OR RR RE REN RENDERING END EN DER DE ER E RING RIN IN NG NG of interior of in int nte nt eri er rrio orr courtyards cou co c courty ou o urty rttyyard arrd a rds and an nd d communal co c com om ommun mu m un u na all life lliifife of lif of residents re esi es ssiid den de ents en ts
DETAIL OF EXOSKELETON showing modular assembly
FLOOD SECTION showing the elevation matching between floating residential units and public sector
ROOF ROO OOF P OOF OO PERSPECTIVE ER ERS RS S SPEC PE PEC P ECTIV EC CTIV TIV VE VE showing ssho showin ho owing win ng post-flood p post ost os ost s -flflood flood oo od connection od co c onne nne nn nect ctition cti on of of rooftop rroo ro o oo oftop fto top emergency to em mer me errg e ge gen en e nc cyy system syysstte sy sys tem em em
DETAILED WALL SECTION revealing mechanical and structural functions of exoskeleton