Citation

	Generous courtyards open from Chartres Street, lined by town houses. They lead to the river. previous image next image
	Eight Inc. | Anderson Anderson Architecture | Justin Laskin and Kathleen Mark | Duong Bui, Erkin Özay, Pars Kibarer | workshop/apd

Duong Bui, Erkin Özay,
Pars Kibarer
Cambridge, Mass., and Istanbul

Concept: The Bywater neighborhood opens into the development through three generous courtyards, lined by multilevel town houses. The ground level can be used for a home business and opens to the public courtyard through a small private loggia. The configuration of the landscaped courtyards offers augmented stormwater retention. The widest, northern courtyard terraces up to a broad river-facing public deck. Along with river viewing, the deck offers access to a play area, community center, and the architecture-school space.

Eight-story towers, in which two units per floor hang from the core, open to the river. A slitlike recess in each brings breezes into the rearmost rooms and allows glass on three sides of each living room.

The straightforward, modular plans are intended to aid in use of prefabrication, for speed of erection. River water would be sourced for a radiant cooling system involving a mat of tubes embedded in the unit ceilings.

“The courtyards are a very good idea,” commented Naslund, “wrapped by housing, yet opening to the street and the community. Similar bungalow courtyard complexes are much beloved in California.” J.S.R.

“The believability of the tower layout is exciting.” —Gooden