Sonya Falkovskaia

A New Typology for Somerville

The new block typology has been generated from the repetition of the same pair of houses, using the porch as the defining American suburban characteristic to create a new urban context.

The new block has a defined frontage and rear, and I aimed to prioritize the front doors of each house on the street. The front is staggered allowing more front doors to have a direct access to the street, and revealing a repetition of the porch on each house. Each house has direct access to the street leading to their front porch - increasing privacy whilst still maintaining frontage to the street. This is the formal side of the block, emulating the American street typology whilst playing with the depth of the porch within the block to generate spatial variety.

The back of the block shows only the long axis of the houses. This side is the informal side, providing small egress paths from the rear of the houses. This street feels much more enclosed, allowing for more casual social interactions to take place.