Aqua House

Abstract

With the rise of urbanization and population migration into urban areas there are opportunities for new ways of designing homes in a city. There is an opportunity to rethink urban living by merging the suburban/ rural lifestyle with the lifestyle of the city. Introducing the program of food production or vertical farming to an apartment building allows for this merger of lifestyles. Inviting these two programs to coexist within the same space allows them to benefit from each other's presence and create a new building typology in the urban fabric of a city.

This thesis idea led to the design of a building located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that embodies both of the programs of a residential building and food production. The residents of the building use the food production space as circulation and as a yard-like gathering space. Through the use of these spaces the idea of cohousing is introduced. Cohousing is defined as the use of design to generate a community that builds connection and insights collaborative participation. The system that occupies this communal space is aquaponics, defined as the growth of aquatic life (fish) in conjunction with the growth/farming of vegetation. The fish and plants benefit from each other, the fish providing waste nutrient water and the plants filtering that waste out of the water in a closed looped irrigation system. The introduction of an aquaponics system allows for the diversity of food production to be broadened in a limited environment. The residents of the building and community tend to the aquaponics system as a collective. This space can also act as a park for the residence to reprogram to their needs i.e. a block party, beer garden, marketplace, educational space, special event space, etc.

The building is designed to be able to react and respond to the outside climate to provide optimal conditions for the growth of plants and comfort of occupants. There is a robotic louver system that can be programmed to allow direct light or to shade an area of the building depending on the needs of the plants or occupants beyond.

This thesis is designed to be a building of a new typology in an urban environment and introduce new ideas as to what a home in a city is, in a rapidly changing and advancing society.

Thesis Statement: With the changing of the world and lifestyles new typologies and opportunities in housing emerge. Using new spatial configurations and introducing food production generates a new building type