The Dwelling Differently unit focuses on the design of places in which people live or reside – both buildings known as dwellings and public spaces in which we dwell – be it by choice, chance or otherwise. Students are encouraged to explore and re-imagine the phenomenon of ‘dwelling’; an important research theme in architectural phenomenology since the work of Heidegger, and arguably a mainstay of architectural practice since its origins. In part the unit responds to a long-standing housing crisis in the UK; one that is often framed as a crisis of volume – a chronic undersupply of affordable housing particularly – but critical problems equally exist in design/build quality and the user experiences of residents. The unit asks student to challenge the architect’s agency and role in shaping different designs for dwelling, including critiquing contemporary development and regulatory contexts where design quality is challenged by other values.
This year the unit started the year by exploring the theme of Estates within the local authority area of Cardiff. Estates understood as: (i) territories or portfolios, as in properties or realms of ownership and control (ii) a distinct yet variable housing typology, as in ‘a collection of dwellings disposed in space’ and/or (iii) the legal term, as in property and personal affects owned by a particular person. The Primer phase involved both micro-scale habitation studies of dwelling places and macro-scale analysis and mappings of the city. Individual design theses developed briefs for a women’s refuge and centre in Butetown; sheltered accommodation for the homeless; halfway housing for former prisoners of HMP Cardiff; a respite facility on the flood plains of the Rhymney; floating housing on Bute East Dock; cohousing for itinerant film/television workers in the Bay; courtyard housing for Cardiff’ Chinese community; and intergenerational housing and community kitchen in Grangetown