Bronx Flatland
Columbia GSAPP 2017 Professor: Adam Snow Framption (Only If) Partner: Laura Veit The title of this project is in reference to the 1884 novella by Edwin A. Abbot, in which describes a fictional world of two-dimensional figures, and life as it would be in a two-dimensional plane. Our program-co-housing for the elderly in the Bronx- aims to create an atmosphere of physical accessibility and collective living. The polemical position of “flatness” comes from the simple observation that less floors are beneficial for the elderly. This position was followed through to every aspect of the design. Flatness for a 300-unit structure generated a plan-based approach that aimed to create “two-dimensional” worlds between levels constituting a collective ground floor, open corridors, and a 400’x400’ roof garden.