Co
THE LOCATION: Newark, NJ
THE PROJECT TYPE: Housing
THE PROJECT:
In a neighborhood like Newark, NJ, where rental rates are so high, there can be a sense of disconnect with your surroundings and a loss of a sense of community. This, plus living in a conventional apartment building where residents often lack interaction with their neighbors, leads to an isolating “home.”
This project focuses on the importance of [co]mmunity and fostering a sense of it throughout the neighborhood, thus the title of the project, “Co”. Co promotes community through all scales of design, from the aggregation of the units around a central courtyard, to the program chosen for communal spaces, to the integration and design of public balconies.
Co aims to address the community aspect of the housing crisis and explores how architecture interacts with the urban fabric around it, highlighting how design has the potential to not only affect its immediate neighbors, but shape the city and community around it.
Co serves as a mid-rise urban housing project located in Newark, NJ. The ground floor is open for public use, housing a vendors' hall, which can be utilized for community events, farmers' markets, companion commercial kitchens, quick eats restaurants, outdoor seating for the vendors' hall and quick eats, a bodega, and a community garden. The food-based program is an intentional choice to bring the community together through necessary tasks. All upper floors are private residential spaces, with a private courtyard for residents on the second floor and communal spaces on each floor.
As the ground floor is meant for the public, the program is carefully chosen to promote the gathering of the community. The various programs include a Vendors Hall with commercial kitchens, quick eats, a bodega, and a community garden connected to an almost "backyard" area for all these programs to share. With food being a vital aspect of our lives, the program specifically being food-oriented draws in the community to gather.
The Vendors Hall offers an opportunity for the community's entrepreneurs to have a space to start their dreams and for the community to come together to support them.
The community garden creates a place for the community to work towards a common goal and indulge in the fruits of their labor together.
The design of the building also promotes creating connections and community amongst residents.
The arrangement of the building around a central courtyard creates a visual connection between residents even on opposite sides of the building.
The courtyard itself offers a space for residents' events.
Occasional "pop-outs" along the hallway overlook the courtyard, with seating built in so that residents can use those spaces to catch up with their neighbors, take a breath of fresh air, etc.
Communal spaces on each floor near the elevator also serves to bring the community together.
THE RESIDENTS' NARRATIVES
