01 02
THE THICKENED WALL Type: Victorian Neighborhood: Haight Location: Haight and Ashbury Average Studio Rental Price: $3,000 Block Size: 275 ft x 412 ft Number of Lots: 36 Lot Size: 100’ x 137.5’ Typical Parcel Size: 27.5 ft x 100 ft Zoning Height: 40 ft Also found in: Mission, Noe Valley, SOMA Historic Sq ft: 5.740 Present Sq Ft: 5,740 Proposed Sq Ft: 6,640 ADU Sq Ft: 900
190
75
a var
var a
20'
5 0' x
20
BLOCK
04'
1 0' x
10
LOT
6’
2 0’ x
10
PARCEL
OPEN SPACE
40'
01
HEIGHT
N
While the Victorian House is often a site of exploration for secondary units, these are typically designed within garage spaces. The gabled roof on several of these types provides a forgotten space to be recouped within the envelope. This is particularly important as the majority of these types occur in zero-lot line conditions, making other modifications or additions that often transpire on the ground floor difficult. There is a large prevalence of this type in San Francisco’s Haight District. Given the amenities, location, access to public transportation, and culture of this neighborhood, it attracts an emerging demographic that privileges geography over amount of space. The largest challenge to accommodating new secondary units within an attic space is access. Due to the zero-lot line condition, the circulation space must be negotiated within the interior of the house. This case study proposes to continue the circulatory logic of the existing type, which organizes its corridors and vertical circulation along the party wall, to the attic. The other difficulty within attic spaces is the lack of height, particularly along
the lot line where the roof meets the floor. Accordingly, this proposal examines how a linear secondary unit can be designed that utilizes a thickened wall that activates a central axis. Integrating storage, closets, furniture, and service spaces into this edge condition, the central spine is continually being redefined by how the thickened edge unfolds, slides, shifts, or rotates into this space. This approach focuses on how to optimally organize domestic program based on varying height to recoup what is typically considered unusable space. By consolidating these programs and their physical artifacts within the thickened wall, the central space is highly flexible and can be rearranged during different times of the day or by distinct inhabitants.
URBANISM FROM WITHIN: A TYPOLOGICAL SURVEY