Do you see me when I sleep?

In contemporary Western homes, the bedroom is often seen as the most private and intimate room, reserved for personal use or for close partners. In the film Love is Strange (2014), this notion is challenged when George and Ben, an elderly couple, are forced to leave their home and live with relatives after George loses his job. Ben moves in with his nephew’s family, sharing a room and a bunk bed with his young nephew. Here, the bedroom is transformed, serving not only as a private space but also as a site of unexpected intimacy and connection.

This project seeks to blur the boundaries between private and communal spaces. The private rooms on the building's sides open onto a central communal space, which is divided into smaller, intimate rooms using a grid of curtains. This flexible design allows the rooms to change in size, merging with others or opening entirely to the communal area. The space is constantly negotiated, adapting to the needs of its inhabitants and shifting between private and shared uses, embodying a dynamic environment of transformation and interaction.

At the heart of the building, kitchens and dining rooms serve as nodes of connection between different wings and floors, reinforcing the communal nature of the space. These shared areas encourage social interaction and collective living, while other household tasks, such as laundry, are also integrated into communal spaces. This layout fosters a sense of togetherness and mutual support among residents.

On the ground floor, a large storage area supports the flexible living spaces and is open to the neighborhood, offering a place for local workers to take breaks or have lunch. The accessible roof, linked by staircases and lifts, remains a public space, providing the district with an elevated communal area that encourages further social interaction.

Master Thesis Spring 2024

Project by: Yann Schaller

Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Dafni Retzepi, Pol Esteve Castelló, He Shen