The project seeks to use Shinohara’s notions of houses that confront the city, adapting them to a contemporary setting.

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In Preston, this means creating an edifice that confronts the profit equation usually present in housing. Four free standing buildings use a singular planning method, one room, two facades, there are no hallways, simply rooms. Access along one sides creates a seemingly more ‘public’ facade, while individual balconies allow for a more private facing moment.

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Interior plans allow for complete flexibility. All rooms are created equal, so to speak. Kitchens and bathrooms act as core, as centrifuge. Extensive gardens, dense, almost unmanicured in their nature, create privacy between buildings, allowing for individual communities to begin to flourish but not obfuscating the singular identity of the block.

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An open ground floor allows for residents to define shared space in their own way - the only allotted programs being ‘mailbox,’ ‘cafe,’ ‘storage’ and ‘circulation.’ While the project may be confrontational to profiteers of housing, it presents a largely agreeable and refreshing edifice to the street. No building exceeds four stories, and the generous green space is shared by the entire community.