VEGETABLE STEW HOUSING

by Isabelle Reid

This proposal incorporates a landscape for living and growing where a modular system merges functions of planter and architecture. 
 
Inspiration draws from local innovator, William Morris, who advocated the ideal of ‘factory gardens’ - pleasure landscapes for workers to partake in leisurely strolls, rest and eat lunch outdoors. Exercise was compulsory for workers and allotments were made for employees’ children. 
 
The polycentric housing is made up of 20 modules connected by multi-level circulation paths that interact with the allotment roofs. Root depth defines roof scapes. These form nooks according to needs both for living and growing, allowing each user to develop individual segments of their home. Grid dimensions derive from the rod, an imperial unit used to define the size of an allotment plot, required to feed a family of 4 for a year. Vegetable Stew Housing promotes a model for self-sufficient urban living; a productive and pleasure landscape.