Housing has become a complex problem in the city of Gadalajara.

People tend to go living to the periferia in order to have their own place to live, for a cheaper price.

 

What we propose to help solving this problem, and bring people back to the hearth of our city, is a flexible housing project able to adapt to the needs of its inhabitants.

 

The site is located in a strategic point where three important avenues collide making it a highly crowded area, filled with movement, commercial, cultural, working and living spaces.

 

Our concept is based on the idea of a grid, that plays the part o a permanent “squeleton”.

Inside these “bones” the content of the project can be modified, depending on users, situations o needs.

All of this in order to achive an ephememere architecture, flexible enough to improve freedom to generate new spaces.

 

In order to contribute with the cultural and commercial ambience our floor plant (based on a 6 per 6 meters grid) bares the public area. The use of the ground floor,  is left open to different possibilities: the retail spaces location can be changed, even the vegetation can be modified in order to make a whole new space proposal.

 

The only things that stays still are the ground patterns, which can be inhabitated in different ways but create specific sensations.

 

We wanted our unit types to follow the same pattern of “changing space”, so we created a sub structure made of partitions that divide inner space, but this division can be as ephemeral as the user wants them to be.

 

The content of the housing program is divided in two towers, one with floor that gathers four apartments per floor (8 floors high), and one with two apartments per floor (6 floor high).

Each unit type is composed by two 6 per 6 grid squares. It has a court where the wet areas are located, while all the front part of the apartment can be inhabitated in the way of the user needs.

 

These partitions give the possibility of growing of shrieking each space. Making it more private or more public.

 

We based our project on the idea that everything can be anything else, as a changing and growing city, it is important to be able to adapt to its transformation without losing the essence of the place where the project is located.