University of Southern California M.ARCH: Fall 2023

 

The Fluid House seeks to explore how a residential program and its spaces can be rethought when it comes to smaller square footage. By combining elements of the original house on the site such as an expansive public porch and an entrance that faces our site, new kinds of spaces are unlocked. A living room and outdoor patio can be one and the same. A sink can work as a transitional space between other functions such as the bathroom or the kitchen. By condensing the footprint and the spaces inside, program elements start to spill into one another, embracing the fluidity of space. 

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How do we represent this spilling and combining of spaces through architectural elements? The use of "soft boundaries", in this case, porous boundaries (rotating wooden fin system), allows for spaces to be opened up or closed off as the user wishes. The ability to open all spaces up to each other is how architecture works to provide more freedom and fluidity to users, giving them a new way of living.