Vasiliki Fragkaki
Architecture being also a social science has to propose and develop solutions for constantly changing human necessities. By providing new forms, orders and shapes of space, architecture aims to embrace simple or complex human activities, as well as offer further possibilities of spatial experience and interaction. Following the contemporary social, economical and environmental transformations architecture is more and more committed to take action in a global framework. Contemporary lifestyles tend to become more urbanized as the global population is concentrated in urban centers and metropolis. As a consequence, new ways of living and housing emerge in search of improving city life that in many cases has become hectic. Meanwhile, climate change has become more evident and real, striking cities and urban centers. For this reason, a more eco-friendly and climate adaptive design is requested, so to produce resilient spaces. Regarding the architectural intervention, a new co-living project is designed as a residential mixed-use complex, in the center of Rome. The idea is to facilitate affordable and adjustable living opportunities of short, mid-term and even long-term duration, along with alternative concepts of living that respect the environment. In particular, a shared living model is introduced, which combines private living units with shared services and spaces, such as laundry, co-working spaces etc., in order to decrease living costs and energy consumption while increase opportunities of real socializing and support within a community. Translating needs into space stands for the methodological narrative. Consequently, an adaptive and sustainable solution is designed to acknowledge the wider compositional urban context.