In the sky

"IN THE AIR" RISD, Urban Design Professor: Jeffrey Geisinger Time: 2016 09-11

A residential space designed for the polluted area

SITE INFORMATION COLLECTION

The site is located in Pawtucket (Rhode Island, USA) and is surrounded by the Blackstone river.

As the textile industry center in the last century, this site suffers chronic flooding and severe water pollution.

Black Stone River 1% Annual Chance Flood 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Public Space Half Public Space Private Space Cemetery Tree Along River Stormwater Outfall Bridge Main Road Important Road Rail

Relationship of Green Public Space and Community

Influence of Flooding

Topography and Flooding

Community Density

Access to Green Space

Transportation for Community

Yona Friedman

Mobile Architecture

"The idea of the Ville Spatiale was to assure for its inhabitant the freedom to shape both their individual habitat and the city layout, freely after their preferences.

The second element of that idea was the Architecture mobile, the possibility to periodically remodel the individual habitat and urban layout, without imposing demolition." [1] [1] Friedman, Yona, Kenneth Frampton, and María I. Rodríguez. Arquitectura Con La Gente, Por La Gente, Para La Gente =: Architecture with the People, by the People, for the People. León: MUSAC, 2011.

Half-public space for meeting neighbors

Two adjacent units share one column grid and one staircase

As the site suffers the heavy water pollution and flooding, residential space can be hard to build on the ground. For avoiding such problems, living on the "air" becomes a reasonable choice. By building a column frame to lift the whole apartment, people could enjoy a wider beautiful view of river and the fresh air.

Considering residents who live in the modern apartment tend to have less chance to interact with their neighbors, some public space such as the corridor is designed wider and face to the riverside.

Thus residents could appreciate the river view and get more chance to interact with their neighbors. Wider balconies and windows are also designed for better sunlight and outdoor space.

various units group

For the ground level, there is a landscape designed for improving the vegetation coverage, purifying the water, and absorbing the flooding.As a small open park, it could also be shared with the nearby community.

various units group

units model

SINGLE COLUMN GRID MODEL WITH STAIRCASE AND ELEVATOR

The rainwater pipeline along the columns frame could collect water and purify water. There are also living machines on the ground floor.

By water recycling system, residents get fresh water from air instead of directly from polluted river.

The residential units are prefabricated and can be set up by using crane. As the whole frame system is flexible, the community could add or reduce units according to the number of residents.Residents could also change their units depending on their need.

Section 1-1

Section 2-2

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2

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2

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1

N Ground Floor with landscape

7th Floor

6th Floor

5th Floor

4th Floor

living machine (for purifying the water )

3rd Floor

2nd Floor

1st Floor