What defines a “Nest”
The rise of tall condominiums made the University Belt very dense, these shelters became monoliths that controlled the distortion of the quality of the place. As the man- built became disconnected to the essence of the place, it questions true definition of a shelter.
The students’ nest explores how modularity and configuration of spaces can influence student housing and how it can transform a certain area into having a built environment suited for the place. A shelter built by a living being is what defines a “nest”. Acting as a home for the students during their life in the university, the project also provides nodal spaces for education, recreation, and commerce.
Habitats are built from different sectors in the natural system generating natural configurations for biological life to thrive in. Inspired from the concept of the Taliesin West Student Shelters where students built their own shelter within the vastness of the desert, a configurational ecosystem enables the students to arrange, customize, and personalize, their own spaces and build their environment to their own liking. It shapes the development of an individual, where one figure experiences and interacts with their created surroundings. With the diversity of archetypes creating a variety of habitats, an ecosystem then flourishes within the area creating a chain of interactions allowing these spaces to grow along with the student. A space is more pleasing for a certain individual when it makes them very comfortable in it and allows them to thrive in it.
Enabling spaces to transform from simple to complex configurations, the Students’ Nest creates an adaptive and flexible layout within the square lattice pattern of the structure standing within the site.
A simple Configuration is very straightforward, as it shows the repetitive rhythm of rooms.
A Complex Configuration caters to the variety, where spaces are shared and shows the differences in preferences.
