Milieu
milieu opposes the tradition of relegating marginalized people to the fringes of the city. Instead, it places them in its midst and demonstrates the idea that each individual is an essential member of the urban community. We see individuals as the city's building blocks and consequently created an architecture that speaks to this idea. As such, milieu is composed of six types of building blocks which can be assembled in infinite combinations to suit the characteristics of any site. These blocks create units of various sizes, types, and affordability, but do not articulate their differences on the exterior, which makes it impossible to know the situation of those living inside or how large a unit may be. Odd pieces that deviate from the norm are integrated fully into the system as an essential component. This typology reinforces our perspective that individuals should not be assessed by their socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, ability, sexuality, or race and nor should their habitat reflect it.
milieu is a building system that creates a multitude of space-types on the sliding scale between public and private. Individual dwelling units, covered shared spaces, outdoor amenity areas, common balconies, street level patios, and live-work studios and kitchens each provide a different sense of public/private designation. Spatial arrangements within the project encourage people to stop and interact with one another by causing their paths to cross naturally. Shared balconies set the scene for impromptu barbecues while live-work studios and cafés run by residents facilitate larger-scale community interaction. The most private zones are those of the individual homes where one's basic needs are accommodated.
Core “units of necessity” containing kitchen and bathroom amenities are surrounded by flexible and largely un-programmed spaces. To accommodate these shifting spatial needs as a family grows, the ability to appropriate a nearby space is provided. As units evolve and their configuration shifts, the relationship of each unit to the context and to each other also changes. With the use of flexible infrastructure the public plaza and thoroughfare both provide opportunity for large organized events such as farmers markets as well as small spur-of-the-moment gatherings. Public and public-private spaces contain amenities which allow, but do not dictate, a range of possible interactions based on the season, the participants, and the time of day.
The residual spaces between the blocks create the most important areas of public-private interaction; providing a richness of social and spatial experiences. These gaps are articulated as balconies and amenity spaces shared between two or more dwelling units. The system is able to recuperate and activate residual spaces such as parking lots or alleyways without eliminating public and green spaces. The architecture instead enriches these previously idle and neglected spaces, by creating conditions that work to break down social barriers and challenge how we typically interact in urban settings.
Montréal's existing urban fabric is rich and diverse and milieu seeks to further animate the streets while densifying the core. The module for the building blocks conforms to the site's historical lotting pattern, yet deviates from the grid to reclaim space. The configuration further defies the urban context's street alignment by creating a new corridor that cuts directly across several city blocks and reveals previously unknown side and rear building elevations. The break from the grid redirects urban circulation and in turn allows people to engage urban space.
(Competitor's text)
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