ning, skills and confidence to be ready to face independent life. This starts with the provision of the basic needs such as water, food storage and private hygenic services, followed by the opportu-nity of users to access sport facilities, commuopportu-nity halls, skill-based trainings, apprenticeship sche-mes, food banks and health and mental support.
YMCA let properties for the 65% of current rent prices in the area (starting from 250£ per week)255, which means that a flat costs 150£ per week, for a total of 600£ per month. Despite pri-ces under the average, though, the rent may still result too much for some.
The building is located east of Mitcham, a district of South London in the London Borough of Merton.
The area has a strong residential connotation, with a relatively low number of services within the close surroundings: a grocery, some sport fa-cilities, parks and a couple of schools. Transport seems a bit better, with several bus stops and a train station.
Despite being a co-housing project, Y:Cube provi-The design of the unit is simple but effective. provi-The
prefabricated box is provided with pre-glazing and cladding processes which help achieving high values of thermal and acoustic insulation.
Being treated with plastic and chemical agents may result in dispersion of toxic volatile com-punds when exposed to extreme conditions, but since the ventilation is good the comfort should be guaranteed.
Social Housing, actually being an independent living situation in a proper flat, allows security and safety not only because of the fact that pe-ople are the owners of their places, but also be-cause the community built around the settlement may play an interesting role in safeguarding each others’ doors.
Y:Cube offers adequate space for a good quali-ty apartment. Each flat has an area of 26m2 and includes a fully funrnished living space with ki-tchen, a separate bedroom and private toilet.
YMCA’s philosophy is to support young people not only with a bed but also with adequate
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modations for being rehoused in co-housing pro-grammes is high, and acceptance could take real-ly long, also considering the fact that this kind of service is still in development.
des short-hold tenancies for a maximum that range from 3 to 5 years, creating semi-perma-nent communities. The concept is not designed to provide long term accommodation, but to act as a transition between temporary accommodation and market housing. However, occupants have enough time to improve their management skills.
Modular techniques and prefabricated pro-cess makes these units sustainable both envi-ronmentally and economically. Everything has been built in the factory and assembled on site in five monts, with expectations of life of sixty ye-ars. Once assembled, units are ready to be con-nected to water, gas and power services. Each unit is constructed from high quality, eco-effi-cient materials (primarily renewable timber) and are so well-insulated that during winter months they require little heating, with valuable savings on bills.
Rapid housing does not fit to this kind of solu-tion for two main reason. Firstly, because people in need are much more likely not to have enough incomes to afford a rent, and secondly because the number of people leaving temporary
accom-254. All extra informations are available at the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners official website, https://www.rsh-p.com/projects/ycube/
and on YMCA official page, https://www.ymca.org.uk/
255. Data from Foxtons, a UK real estate agency, https://www.foxtons.co.uk/
living-in/mitcham/rentals/
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13. "Stepping Stones" by Morris + Company
Info
Commission: "New Horizon Youth Center"
Location: York Road Tube Station, North Lon-don, UK
Program: mixed-used co-housing shelters Year: 2018
Area: 7-21m2 according to units’ size
«Morris + Company has unveiled images of their competition-winning vision addressing London’s homelessness crisis. The M+C scheme, produced for the New Horizon Youth Center and Mayor of London-led competition, repurposes the aban-doned York Road tube station into a hostel and co-working space. (fig. 56)
Titled "Stepping Stones", the project seeks to pro-vide «an inclusive, viable, and holistic site
stra-FIG. 56 | Project view from York Road (render)
Image Credit: Morris + Company via ArchDaily (https://www.archdaily.com/909115/morris-plus-company-imagines-london-tube-station-repurposed-for-the-homeless) 4. evaluation
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tegy that can support a managed and balanced community by providing homeless young resi-dents with a sage, supporting stepping-stone into appropriate long-term housing solutions.» (fig.
57) Each resident in the proposal is treated with equal dignity through considered, shared design principles. Publicly-accessible co-working spaces and a charity shop empower residents, who see their shared home act as an active destination for the local community.
Morris + Company collaborated with key advi-sors including homeless charity, homeless shel-ter providers, engineers, developers, vulnerable young people, and social workers throughout the competition process.»256
256. Niall Patrick Walsh, Morris + Company Imagines London Tube Station Re-purposed for the Homeless, 2019, https://www.archdaily.com/909115/mor- ris-plus-company-imagines-london-tube-station-repurposed-for-the-home-less
FIG. 57 | Drawings of mixed-used housing units
Image Credit: Morris + Company via ArchDaily (https://www.archdaily.com/909115/morris-plus-company-imagines-london-tube-station-repurposed-for-the-homeless) 4. evaluation 183
le apartments designed for co-living mixed use (short, mid and long term) offer a more generous and independent space, respectively 7m2, 11.5m2 and 21m2.
New Horizon Youth Center, which is the promoter of this project, is an organization who mainly fo-cuses on young homeless people and provides every kind of service: food, hygiene, medical sup-port, housing counseling, training and skill de-velopment. Stepping Stones, in particular, offers co-working spaces and shops also open to the public, where guests have the opportunity to get familiar with a working environment and daily life.
No informations about overnight charges have been provided. The charity is funded from both statutory, trust, corporate and individual sources and is managed by a voluntary Board of Trustees.
The ex York Tube station is located north of Lon-don’s city center, very close to the King’s Cross train station. The area is well served: parks for amusement, training centers, groceries, a care Stepping Stones is still an on-going project, but
has the potential to offer adequate protection for its users. The building, an ex tube station, will be completely renovated and a series of rooms are going to be built with adequate glazing for good enlightment and ventilation. The building also protect people from extreme weather conditions.
The level of privacy and security is well desi-gned: this project foresee dedicated areas accor-ding to the use, which includes all short, mid and long term stays. The first two are grouped in one wing of the building, while the third in the other and it is not accessible for temporary or transi-tional users. Because of the mix of overnight ser-vices, privacy may vary. It is going to be higher where clients have their own room, while lower in the common dormitory.
As for privacy, also square meters may result adequate or not according to the usage of the structure. In the dormitory, private space does not certainly reach the minimum per person, but being a temporary solution can account for a fair deal (also because there is some common spa-ce on the ground floor). On the other hand,
litt-evaluation form
4. evaluation 184
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Access is another issue that needs to be diffe-rentiated: of course, for what concerns co-living units, those set for mid or long-term do not help, since are part of a step approach (similar to a very small-scaled staircase), but the presence of a temporary service balances the evaluation.
In general, though, sleeping spots are extremely numbered. Requirements for the access, if pre-sent, have not been clarified.
center, churches, theaters and public transport.
Thanks to its mixed use, Stepping Stones can guarantee different types of tenancies accor-ding to the needs. Unfortunely, the structure does not provide permanent housing solutions, but works to form people towards the indepen-dent living. Thanks to access’ registrations, users are traceable.
One of the most interesting points of this project is the renovation of an abandoned building.
Since construction works have to be done on-si-te, some costs may rise but it becomes sustai-nable in terms of reuse. Gaining additional space from vacant building or spaces themselves is a very contemporary architectural issue and helps reducing the sprawl of the urban soil. Each hou-sing unit is designed in a modular way uhou-sing li-ghtweight timber materials, allowing for ease of construction, maintenance and replacemens.
No further informations about energy efficien-cy or insulation have been given, so it is difficult to assess the overall performance.
4. evaluation 185
14. "Herzberg Public Housing" by AllesWirdGut Architektur + feld72
Info
Commission: EGW Heimstätte + ÖVW Österr-eichisches Wohnungswerk
Location: Vienna, Austria Program: social cohousing Year: 2011
Area: 20212m2
«The idea behind the Herzberg development is to create a built structure (fig. 58) which com-bines a variety of residential offerings into one neighborhood that facilitates different ways of living. This objective was pursued on both an ur-ban-planning and on an architectural level.
For one thing, the estate comprises several widely different urban-design typologies: there is the
FIG. 58 | Herzberg Public Housing (complex view)
Photo Credit: Hertha Hurnaus via ArchDaily (https://www.archdaily.com/173668/herzberg-public-housing-alleswirdgut-architektur) 4. evaluation
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lawn with several point block buildings scatte-red on it; the residential courtyard building with access balconies, or the street and plaza with a multi-family townhouse.
This collage structure makes the estate me-diate in the urban fabric between the colony of small-scale single-family houses on the West side and a shopping mall to the East. For another thing, the buildings are terraced on the upper sto-ries, which creates different living and outdoor si-tuations from floor to floor.
The range of apartment types thus created spans from the single-person rooftop apartment with a large terrace to flexible (blended) family
apart-ments with living rooms from which one or two temporary bedrooms may easily be partitioned off if needed, and to assisted-living homes for children without families.
The color design re-unifies the resultant diversity into one coherent neighborhood and provides it with an urban identity of its own.»257
257. ArchDaily, Herzberg Public Housing / AllesWirdGut Architektur + feld72, October 2011, https://www.archdaily.com/173668/herzberg-public-housing-alleswird-gut-architektur
FIG. 59 | Herzberg Public Housing (inner courtyard view)
Photo Credit: Hertha Hurnaus via ArchDaily (https://www.archdaily.com/173668/herzberg-public-housing-alleswirdgut-architektur)
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