HOUSING 2.0
Location: Seventh Street and Folsom Street, San Francisco, California, USA
Year: 2017
Type: Academic research
Status: Completed study
Institution: California College of the Arts
Role: Sole student designer
Outputs: Research, concepts, models, drawings, details, renderings, specifications, prototypes, and fabrication studies
Image credits: JJ Tan
Professional involvement: Not applicable to this academic project
Housing 2.0 examines how a modular housing system might respond to the changing routines, spatial needs, and patterns of collective living found in the South of Market district of San Francisco.
Each apartment is formed from two primary modules. One contains the kitchen and living space, while the other contains the bedroom and bathroom. Between rooms and neighboring apartments, structural framing doubles as open shelving. Residents can fill this framework with books and personal objects to create greater privacy or leave portions open to maintain visual connections.
The modules shift by two feet as they rise around a central circulation core. This staggered organization creates stepped access through a wrapping stair while retaining elevator access. At the corner of Seventh and Folsom Streets, the modules lift away from the ground to create space for a café and other public activities, allowing street life to extend into the building.
Larger shared kitchens, living spaces, entertainment areas, and bicycle storage supplement the compact private units. The project uses repeatable modules, panelized components, and systematic detailing to investigate how standardized elements can produce varied forms of occupation and social interaction.