[23-02] Union Web
Program:
Affordable Housing
Affordable Housing
Advisor:
Edward Marchant
Edward Marchant
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Union Web stands as a comprehensive and innovative response to the urgent need for affordable housing, realized through a collaboration between Just A Start, a local nonprofit real estate developer, and an interdisciplinary team comprising Architecture, Urban Planning, and Public Policy students from Harvard University and Tufts University. This transformative endeavor emerged as a result of a rigorous two-month effort for a local affordable housing competition.
Union Web is a mixed-use, transit-oriented housing development. Encompassing 78 affordable rental units across a 19,500-square-foot site, steps away from a new light rail stop. Acknowledging the looming impact of ongoing and forthcoming urban development, which poses the risk of displacement and gentrification, the project proactively seeks to address these challenges.
The driving force behind Union Web’s design ethos is adaptability and future-oriented growth. From inception, the project’s framework accommodates the ever-evolving nature of its surroundings. For example, site control—due to circumstances at the time of design, only half of the proposed site was secured. The project is conceived to function optimally on either half or the entire site.
The project considers the evolving needs of families. By crafting each unit with the intention of accommodating family growth and evolution, the design breaks free from the constraints that often necessitate relocation as households expand. The project also integrates light wells into its architecture, allowing the maximum unit mix on the given site. This feature channels natural light and ventilation into all units, ensuring a sense of openness, comfort, and sustainability.
Union Web is a mixed-use, transit-oriented housing development. Encompassing 78 affordable rental units across a 19,500-square-foot site, steps away from a new light rail stop. Acknowledging the looming impact of ongoing and forthcoming urban development, which poses the risk of displacement and gentrification, the project proactively seeks to address these challenges.
The driving force behind Union Web’s design ethos is adaptability and future-oriented growth. From inception, the project’s framework accommodates the ever-evolving nature of its surroundings. For example, site control—due to circumstances at the time of design, only half of the proposed site was secured. The project is conceived to function optimally on either half or the entire site.
The project considers the evolving needs of families. By crafting each unit with the intention of accommodating family growth and evolution, the design breaks free from the constraints that often necessitate relocation as households expand. The project also integrates light wells into its architecture, allowing the maximum unit mix on the given site. This feature channels natural light and ventilation into all units, ensuring a sense of openness, comfort, and sustainability.
