THE PROFESSIONAL’S PASSAGE

As an approach to collective housing, this project is focused on designing an intentional community that supports its residents at their individual periods and points in their life. These different stages of life are reflected as “stepping into a new threshold.” For this design, thresholds are represented as different public and private spaces, how an individual will circulate the site (both as a resident, or as someone who is using the metro and other public amenities), and by an urban plaza that will function as a transitional space between the public and residential use. The site is known as the “commuter hub” and the resident is “the professional.” Here, a professional is anyone who is trying to get a career started, or jumping back into their career. With amenities such as an academic resource center and job training center, the design is based on intentionality, providing guidance and support for people to have equal opportunities both in the workforce and life. The spaces designed are thresholds for movement and mobility, in addition to providing a space of social exchange between individuals who come and live and experience what the design offers. The building’s massing develops through an iterative process of a tower typology. These towers introduce verticality, density, and views. By shifting and layering these masses, the design creates depth both spatially and experientially—defining thresholds between public and private realms, and framing a dynamic interplay between collective and individual life.