Ailin Yang



Architecture

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Modular Living Redefined


A New Paradigm for Collective Urban Housing
After Casa Poli

 

March 2024 to August 2024 
Site: Thessaloniki. Greece 
Instructor: Landon Carpenter 
Individual Works 

This design project reinterprets collective living through the lens of Casa Poli, the president project by Pezo von Ellrichshausen in 2005, abstracting its spatial logic into 2’x3’x4’ models that emphasize the interplay of solids and voids. 

Inverting Casa Poli’s outward focus, this project turns inward, shaping nested spaces that unfold outward, inviting the city in. A central courtyard acts as the communal core, blending seclusion with openness. Spaces are divided both physically and metaphorically, with a central circulation ensuring fluidity and connectivity. Each unit functions as an adaptable ‘atomic’ space, allowing residents to define their own living experiences.

Beyond traditional housing, this model offers a flexible framework that evolves with urban life—a canvas where architecture fosters community while celebrating individuality.





Casa Poli； Plans, Elevations, Picture, and Unrolled Model
Casa Poli, situated on the scarcely inhabited Coliumo Peninsula, functions as both a summer residence and a cultural hub. It offers an innovative approach to modern communal living.

Its exterior is monumental, while the interior structure combines domestic qualities. The streamlined space squeezed at the edges allows visitors to appreciate the seaside scenery from outside, while the unassigned function of the interior spaces makes the utilization of the space more flexible, giving the residents more agency.

ABSTRACTION AND ITTERATION
2’x3’x4’ representation models that itterates the logic of solids and voids




When Casa Poli is abstracted into an abstract mass of 2’x3’x4’ dimensions, its original architectural elements, such as windows and walls, are all translated into the logic of solid and void. Through the logic of the solid and void, an reiteration can be formed based on the logic.
The elaborate interplay among these components transforms the core identity of the structure, converting windows and walls into a fresh lexicon of spatiality and substance.

The architecture is guided by two principal philosophies: the deliberate positioning of empty spaces to carve out transparency and foster communal engagement, and the complex bending of solid forms to offer protection and seclusion. This yields a vibrant architectural entity that pulsates with the tempo of city living.


The central courtyard space serves as a communal living area, where the inward-facing design preserves the privacy of the community while offering a shared space for residents. It provides natural daylight and a sense of atmosphere distinct from the outside and the living rooms.
The relatively independent rooms are separated by a central circulation, which not only divides the space but also maintains a certain connection. Different programs within this division reflect a new family ecology. Each space acts like a replaceable atomic space, becoming an independent, unfixed-only sugested-in function, and individually utilized space with residence’s autonomy.
Ailin Yang