Tim Jun Li

Coming from Hong Kong, a city of skyscrapers, arriving in central Amsterdam was enchanting; the different facades of the terraced houses and the portico housing type entrances… Living in Den Haag, I had similar experiences, but as soon as I walk out of the central district, the cityscape transforms into a series of monotonous repetitive façade of mid-rise apartments. I was therefore driven to introduce a new typology of dwelling units suitable for mid-rise building that actively engages with the street while enhancing the domesticity of the living area. My design proposal is a unit of dwelling with a semi-outdoor, courtyard that you would enter before preceding to the living area. The experience is like entering the front porch of a detached housing unit, hence bringing the street to the upper floors; it is an adapted version of the Prairie houses by Frank Lloyd Wright, where in replacement of the fire place, the courtyard is the heart of the dwelling unit. It is directly connected visually with the kitchen, and the living room can completely open up via foldable doors. The courtyard has a single glass façade with foldable doors, providing protection from the harsh autumn and winter conditions. Regardless of the weather, the inhabitants will have the incentive to use the semi-open space, which will liven up the façade of the building and improve the social conditions of the neighborhood.