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H553

Studio OPEN

Michal Pajakiewicz and Magda Rolka


Forest City

To address the environmental issues that we are facing now, we propose a Forest City.

Urban fabric enriched by large number of trees allows residents to connect with nature and landscape, positively affects their physical and mental health, supports social and economic development. A Forest City helps to mitigate the climate change and supports biodiversity and wildlife habitats, among many other benefits.

Looking at the scale of individual units, four adjoining houses are sharing a garden, big enough to accommodate various zones, and to sustain a large tree in the centre. This arrangement encourages casual meetings and a social interaction between families. It helps to arrange inexpensive childcare and deal with the issue of aging society. It provides a safe area for children to play and accessible environment for elderly. Each house can be easily adapted to working from home or staring your own enterprise.

The internal layout of our houses is designed to adapt in response to changing needs of the residents. Highly adaptable homes do not force residents to move out when their situation change. They encourage people to invest their time, energy, and talents into their community. Digital technologies are harnessed to further strengthen community ties.

Facades can be customized, finishing materials can be selected from a range of proposed sustainable materials: untreated wood cladding, shingles, cork panels and upcycled PVC.

Thanks to net-zero carbon approach, compact massing, efficient systems and high performing envelope, environmental impacts are less than 40% of a typical house, with the opportunity for a Passivhaus Classic certificate.

Homes are designed for off-site manufacture and for use of prefabricated volumetric and closed-panel systems therefore time savings will be substantial.

At the End of Life homes will be disassembled and their components will be reused and recycled. Urban Forest will be retained and can be repurposed for future generations.