High density causes a shortage of housing supply due to the low vacancy ratio in Manhattan, New York. The housing shortage brings various social problems such as an unstable housing market, gentrification, and urban sprawl. As the profitability of short-term rentals through home rental services increases, many cities including New York are shifting from permanent housing to short-term rentals. It leads to a short supply of permanent housing and an increase in rent prices. For low-and-moderate income New Yorkers who preferred long-term rentals, they left in a situation where they have nowhere to go. In regards to the question of “what socioeconomic values made through affordable housing?”, We focused on the flexibility of building space and programmatic use. This building offers a new typology of affordable housing where private living area and communities, as well as permanent housing and a rental unit, can all coexist. Social issues have made an influence on this project. Sociable areas are on the ground level, with private areas above. When the idea of living and values of environment and society are changing quickly, choosing a living space that can align with the change is limited. The main lobby on the ground level is not isolated and can expand to outdoor areas by opening the window panels. The neighbors are also free to share public spaces of the building. This way, the building keeps the community’s sustainability, revitalizing an entire neighborhood.

The interior was structured into skip floor using two separate vertical circulations: stair core and skip floor stairs. This four-story structure holds six split levels of skip floor configuration, where each floor has an open floor plan; it makes the internal space flexible and provides a sense of visual openness.

This building uses a steel I-beam module structure as its base. We have created prototypes of 17x15x11 feet modules that allows for a fluid configuration of architectural units such as bedroom, living, dining, and terrace. Through the open floor plan, the elements of its design can be customized to adapt to a wide range of constraints and specifications of the site. Modular housing is just like assembling Lego blocks. The landlord can design and make space arrangements as they wish. One module reflects a minimal living space. Stacking modules in a confined area make modules to disconnect physically. Although the idea of skip floor and open floor plan does limit physical space, it provides visual continuity and flexible space arrangement as a solution to the confined area and also offers more small-scale living experiments. It helps us imagine new forms of housing and new ways of living together.