Multicultural Living
Spring 2025
Low-Rise High-Density Housing Proposal
Group Work with Hanssy Vasquez Gomez
Instructors: Christopher Guignon and Dr. Jennifer Donnelly
This housing project includes a variety of forms inspired by the vernacular architecture of the refugee user groups’ home countries. These forms reflect specific environmental and climatic conditions. Integrating vernacular ideas into the site not only creates diverse atmospheres but also informs passive design strategies suited to Pittsburgh’s climate. The site also functions as a component of domestic, urban, and global food systems—facilitating growing, cooking, selling, and dining as means to share and celebrate culture. This approach benefits the site’s tenants, fosters neighborhood connections, and contributes to Oakland’s pattern of outdoor dining spaces
The refugee user group originates from countries across the globe. The vernacular architecture of these countries responds to their climatic and environmental conditions, such as average temperature and availability of materials. The design uses these vernacular ideas as inspiration, creating relationships between stereotomic and tectonic forms across the housing project’s levels. This creates various spatial atmospheres around the site while allowing for the integration of passive systems that suit Pittsburgh’s climate
Solar gain is a necessary passive system given Pittsburgh’s climate. Units conserve energy using a “passive house” wall assembly with rigid and cavity insulation. On higher-story units, glazing along the east, south, and west sides increases solar gain, while ground floor units have selected thermal mass walls. Other passive strategies include a rainwater catchment system, green roofs, and courtyards and fenestration that increase ventilation
