Sustainable Housing

Urban Planning

Fall 2014

- Arcology is architectural design for densely populated habitats with the purpose to minimize the individual human environmental impact. This is done through sustainability, zero-waste technology, and ecological practices. Keeping this in mind, I spent a semester with a partner designing a housing community for a large waterfront property on the edge of the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh.

We were in charge of designing everything from the individual unit to the layout of the entire site. Our site design integrated a plan to minimize the effects of Pittsburgh’s poor sewage and rainwater system while also creating opportunities for urban farming and recreational activities. We developed micro-communities within the site that had variable living experiences through their densification and allowed the creation of particular circulation methods and nodes. The unit was designed with the intention that the site was dynamic, and over time the layout could change and grow with the area’s needs.

In conjunction with Alyssa Hamilton

A Sustainable Community

Our landscape design was excavated to create bioswales and a channel for the river. The excavated dirt from these was used to create hills and fill the green roofs of the individual units. The bioswales were strategically placed near the city’s runoff outlets to act as filters to the channel, which cleaned the water even further. This also created a secluded waterfront park and allowed direct access to the city’s future water taxis. The unique landscape created a dynamic site that requires the use of bridges and boats, resembling the city of Pittsburgh itself.

Another distinct attribute to the city of Pittsburgh, is its diversity in communities. The micro-communities within the site were developed with a gradient in density. Those to the East are stacked higher and closer together, while those on the west are spread throughout the urban farm fields.