Picoutos Collective Housing

The IMCOLLECTIVE team collaborated with the architecture studio PURA on a proposal for an Affordable Collective Housing project as part of a public competition organised by IHRU. With the housing crisis at the centre of political debate, this competition aimed to explore new housing typologies, experiment with better integration of public space, and test new design methods to speed up production processes.

The proposed system ensures a floorplan and elevation grid that uses repetition to allow the same variety and flexibility of solutions. Essentially, it prepares for a future of adaptation to new typologies and undiscovered needs. From the point of view of the organisation of the standard module and its relationship with the site and its surroundings, we immediately debated between the most suitable solar orientation and the panoramic view to the north. In this way, the design of the typologies incorporated this desire for articulation and spatial fluidity, combining the most appropriate solar orientation with the interior compartments, without neglecting the relationship with the park and the landscape.

The IMCOLLECTIVE team collaborated with the architecture studio PURA on a proposal for an Affordable Collective Housing project as part of a public competition organised by IHRU. With the housing crisis at the centre of political debate, this competition aimed to explore new housing typologies, experiment with better integration of public space, and test new design methods to speed up production processes.

The proposed system ensures a floorplan and elevation grid that uses repetition to allow the same variety and flexibility of solutions. Essentially, it prepares for a future of adaptation to new typologies and undiscovered needs. From the point of view of the organisation of the standard module and its relationship with the site and its surroundings, we immediately debated between the most suitable solar orientation and the panoramic view to the north. In this way, the design of the typologies incorporated this desire for articulation and spatial fluidity, combining the most appropriate solar orientation with the interior compartments, without neglecting the relationship with the park and the landscape.

The realisation that the construction industry has a huge impact on the planet helped us to rethink the project in terms of development, capable of transforming, adapting and evolving over time. To address these issues, we thought of our construction process as being organised into two distinct systems that we could call hardware (skeleton, structure, infrastructure) and software (variable architectural components). The hardware will be the structure and permanent infrastructures associated with the long life cycle of the building, and the software will be made up of flexible, easily adaptable elements, such as the transformation of typologies, changes to internal partitions, removable panels, etc.

In a future scenario, through the structural network and the repetition of the infrastructure cores, it will also be this variation and flexibility that will allow us to transform the dwellings between the T1/T2/T3 typologies by adding or removing rooms. The design of the typologies and their internal organisation allows us to place the social spaces opposite the fire. In this way, we were able to extend the living room and kitchen spaces, creating a feeling of greater spaciousness and spatial fluidity. Instead of "losing" circulation spaces, this area acquires spatial characteristics that allow it to be experienced as a quality living space in continuity with the others.

The choice to emphasise the structural elements on the façade makes it possible to take advantage of their plastic expression and guarantee coherence between the elevations. The fact that the vertical cores are in contact with the façade allows us to design them as an exceptional element, also giving plastic and rhythmic interest to the façade, while guaranteeing natural ventilation and privacy between the balconies. We also planned to use thermal curtains with a solar and reflective factor to enhance the experience of the different apartments and their green surroundings.

The realisation that the construction industry has a huge impact on the planet helped us to rethink the project in terms of development, capable of transforming, adapting and evolving over time. To address these issues, we thought of our construction process as being organised into two distinct systems that we could call hardware (skeleton, structure, infrastructure) and software (variable architectural components). The hardware will be the structure and permanent infrastructures associated with the long life cycle of the building, and the software will be made up of flexible, easily adaptable elements, such as the transformation of typologies, changes to internal partitions, removable panels, etc.

In a future scenario, through the structural network and the repetition of the infrastructure cores, it will also be this variation and flexibility that will allow us to transform the dwellings between the T1/T2/T3 typologies by adding or removing rooms. The design of the typologies and their internal organisation allows us to place the social spaces opposite the fire. In this way, we were able to extend the living room and kitchen spaces, creating a feeling of greater spaciousness and spatial fluidity. Instead of "losing" circulation spaces, this area acquires spatial characteristics that allow it to be experienced as a quality living space in continuity with the others.

The choice to emphasise the structural elements on the façade makes it possible to take advantage of their plastic expression and guarantee coherence between the elevations. The fact that the vertical cores are in contact with the façade allows us to design them as an exceptional element, also giving plastic and rhythmic interest to the façade, while guaranteeing natural ventilation and privacy between the balconies. We also planned to use thermal curtains with a solar and reflective factor to enhance the experience of the different apartments and their green surroundings.

The realisation that the construction industry has a huge impact on the planet helped us to rethink the project in terms of development, capable of transforming, adapting and evolving over time. To address these issues, we thought of our construction process as being organised into two distinct systems that we could call hardware (skeleton, structure, infrastructure) and software (variable architectural components). The hardware will be the structure and permanent infrastructures associated with the long life cycle of the building, and the software will be made up of flexible, easily adaptable elements, such as the transformation of typologies, changes to internal partitions, removable panels, etc.

In a future scenario, through the structural network and the repetition of the infrastructure cores, it will also be this variation and flexibility that will allow us to transform the dwellings between the T1/T2/T3 typologies by adding or removing rooms. The design of the typologies and their internal organisation allows us to place the social spaces opposite the fire. In this way, we were able to extend the living room and kitchen spaces, creating a feeling of greater spaciousness and spatial fluidity. Instead of "losing" circulation spaces, this area acquires spatial characteristics that allow it to be experienced as a quality living space in continuity with the others.

The choice to emphasise the structural elements on the façade makes it possible to take advantage of their plastic expression and guarantee coherence between the elevations. The fact that the vertical cores are in contact with the façade allows us to design them as an exceptional element, also giving plastic and rhythmic interest to the façade, while guaranteeing natural ventilation and privacy between the balconies. We also planned to use thermal curtains with a solar and reflective factor to enhance the experience of the different apartments and their green surroundings.

The realisation that the construction industry has a huge impact on the planet helped us to rethink the project in terms of development, capable of transforming, adapting and evolving over time. To address these issues, we thought of our construction process as being organised into two distinct systems that we could call hardware (skeleton, structure, infrastructure) and software (variable architectural components). The hardware will be the structure and permanent infrastructures associated with the long life cycle of the building, and the software will be made up of flexible, easily adaptable elements, such as the transformation of typologies, changes to internal partitions, removable panels, etc.

In a future scenario, through the structural network and the repetition of the infrastructure cores, it will also be this variation and flexibility that will allow us to transform the dwellings between the T1/T2/T3 typologies by adding or removing rooms. The design of the typologies and their internal organisation allows us to place the social spaces opposite the fire. In this way, we were able to extend the living room and kitchen spaces, creating a feeling of greater spaciousness and spatial fluidity. Instead of "losing" circulation spaces, this area acquires spatial characteristics that allow it to be experienced as a quality living space in continuity with the others.

The choice to emphasise the structural elements on the façade makes it possible to take advantage of their plastic expression and guarantee coherence between the elevations. The fact that the vertical cores are in contact with the façade allows us to design them as an exceptional element, also giving plastic and rhythmic interest to the façade, while guaranteeing natural ventilation and privacy between the balconies. We also planned to use thermal curtains with a solar and reflective factor to enhance the experience of the different apartments and their green surroundings.