Scale 1: the Unit The design process begins at the scale of the unit with the daily stories of the tenants. Their stories identify the most important moments of change, and lead to the re-design of particular thresholds to suit their needs. These designs become a set of guidelines for the re-design of all the units, a framework within which each unit can be adapted individually. The stories of the inhabitants are read on the façade of the building.
right: the threshold between the kitchen and the living space is open, yet clearly defines the space. The entrance into the unit from the exterior contains a place to sit and view the lake.
Scale 2: the Courtyard Each courtyard on the site has a different design in order to accommodate a variety of new programs, from after-school groups, concerts and block parties to summer camps. Units at grade facing the street can be reprogrammed as commercial spaces. These businesses would be small enough to be supported by the neighbourhood and to introduce new uses to the courtyard. The courtyard is a direct link between the apartment buildings and the lake. As the terraces step down to the lake, they move from private to communal to public, linking into the city-wide recreational path network.
above left: the adapted façades are inhabitable, blurring the harsh line between inside and out. Roof decks, balconies and courtyards become the outside overlapping rooms that are then threaded into the greater site.
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below: the courtyard extends down to the lake, with an after-school pavilion and dock.
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