OPEN CIRCUIT
Team
Name: Joey TEH
Nationality: Singaporean
Institution / Company: National University of Singapore
Name: Andre LIM
Nationality: Singaporean
Institution / Company: National University of Singapore
Name: Bryant LAU
Nationality: Singaporean
Institution / Company: National University of Singapore
-EDITORIAL PICK of SOCIAL DISTANCING HOUSING BLOCK Competition
The aftermath of COVID-19 presents a bleak future for society. With the alienation of outdoor public spaces, the role of home is elevated into a space of part-live and part-production. The project proposes a future housing model where architecture compliments the unstoppable manifestation of Virtual Reality – two environments that were once at odds can now coexist. Indeed, if homes are reduced to its bare minimum, the need to consider its function socially and economically is an urgent one.
The project envisions an architectural system where basic housing modules can be expanded and plugged into a central core. The space of each module can be reconfigured by connecting one to another, resulting in a dynamic and ever-changing façade design. The interchangeability relieves the problem of inequality – rather than being burdened by lifelong housing loans, the homeowner now has a choice to expand living space in phases. The ever-changing home is thus resilient to the changes the future of COVID-19 may demand.
Set in a dystopian world where COVID-19 continues to lead the race, the project identifies the compounding problem of Virtual Reality restricting the social aspects of life. By that extension, the introverted ways of society degenerate the need for a lavish and presentable home. Thus, the approach is to inhibit the trend of VR encroaching and overshadowing architecture spaces is critical. If the home is now a machine, nothing should stop it from being a sanctuary all at once. Not even Virtual Reality.
#virtualreality #cyberspace #futurehomes #newnormal #expansion
