Our studio analyzed a typical New Haven two-family house and Luigi Moretti’s Il Girasole. There is little to no shared space or opportunity for interaction between the two families living in the New Haven house, while in Il Girasole, the central circulation void and the internal courtyards are shared spaces. In this central space, Il Girasole’s horizontal layering is read against its vertical symmetry, revealing a complex three-dimensional space not found in the New Haven house. There are moments when it is unclear what is inside, what is outside, what is part of an individual unit and what is not. In this model, we want to transpose the ambiguity of ownership and boundary that we see in Il Girasole into the New Haven house at the scale of block, house, room, and material. This turning out elicits instances of rotation and projection that support our overall goal of blurring the boundaries of separation and sidedness. We are freeing the New Haven house from its wrapper and divisions. The unfolded rooms act both individually and collectively—perceived as components of a large unit or as individual units themselves, breaking down the scale of the New Haven lot organization.

We align particular moments of connection and projection within our metamorphic project, while embracing moments of collision, which we believe contribute to a more ambiguous New Haven house. The original New Haven house offers its occupants functional flexibility, into which we have injected formal and social flexibility.

In collaboration with Camille Chabrol, Page Comeaux, Ruchi Dattani, Michael Glassman, Rachel Lefevre, Katie Lau, Matthew Liu, Thomas Mahon, Layla Ni, Kay Yang

Critic: Andrew Benner