Social housing under late capitalism:
this is a housing project

Amy Epperson

this is a housing project stemmed from an earlier examination of the ways in which money dictates how we occupy and navigate space under capitalism.

This study called into focus iterations of public spaces that have existed throughout history, and how those spaces serve different functions based on the societal (and political) systems in which we live.

Irritated with the reality that our existence in most spaces relies on some form of monetary exchange, I propose a new form of public space, a new agora, the agora mobilia.

The agora was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is an exemplary image of city form’s response to accommodate the social and political order of the polis. The literal meaning of the word is “gathering place” or “assembly.” The agora was the center of the athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life in the city.

This new agora, the agora mobilia, will be new in that when we say a gathering place—a center of political life in the city—we don’t mean a space for white, educated, land-owning men. This is a space for all people, but first and foremost, it is a space for those who hold identities on the margins; a space for the working class. The agora mobilia is a place for exchange that is not monetary, but rather an exchange of ideas, culture, knowledge, trade, resources, community care, and so much more.

This new agora, unlike the old, does not have to exist in a box. It does not have to sit still. It can take whatever form best meets the needs of those it serves. In this example, I produced an architectural language both reminiscent of the old agora and simple forms like building blocks from childhood—easy to rearrange and nest on top of one another. Perhaps, in reality, each form is like a folly, but in reverse. Rather than producing anything new at all, I make use of these already-existing-but-out-of-use structures, adapting them to meet the needs of those they will serve.

The next phase of this work called for a new form of housing in the city. Social housing that literally rests on top of the agora mobilia and is held up by the same ideal.

Imagine an urban multi-family housing complex that addresses the following:
→ the vastness of identity—how do we consider the nuances of an individual and their circumstances as well as the collective, rather than building for the perpetuance of the patriarchy?
→ a shift in social relationships (less monogamous, more queer)
→ a ground plane that is penetrable, truly publicly accessible; not apartments on top of businesses
→ housing that can accommodate for live/work situations, studio/office space, a range of occupancy, and does not preference the “married couple and 2-4 kids,” but can adapt to this 
→ preference alternative living situations and promotes a redistribution of care across community

This housing project argues for an architecture that is expressive of the richness of the very people that live within it, and, in turn, brings the architecture to life. While, in this example, each unit follows the same architectural vocabulary, in practice this project would ask that those who live in this community produce an architectural language reflective of themselves. The resulting architecture, if this method were to be actualized, should be expressive of the relationships that form across identities and resist the problematic correlation between the human being and the symbols that one is supposed to embody; a direct resistance to the ideologies behind the modernist “international style,” which erase histories for the comfort and benefit of the white man and the capitalist, who profit from mass production.

Within each unit, there is no standard floor plan, but floor plans are rendered as examples of ways in which any given space might be utilized. Each unit has two levels to accommodate various uses such as multiple occupancy, live/work, or studio/office space. each unit is attached by a veranda that acts as both a hallway (in your typical apartment) or the sidewalk of a suburban street. The ground level is where the agora exists, acting as both a yard and a living room, a place to gather, a place for exchange.