The 3-Families House explores the model of a co-living community for three families as an alternative to mid-rise apartment blocks more commonly used in dense areas of the rapidly developing city of Shaoxing, China.

A distinct gable roof brings together the three families single articulated volume, that responds to Shaoxing’s historic urban fabric. The architectural language of the project seeks to transform housing into “an everything architecture”: landscapes, seasons, buildings, materials, etc. The structure accommodates a diversity of programs and a multitude of inhabitants within a single form.

The house is comprised of three distinct layers of program: a neighborhood daycare center on the ground floor; a communal dining area with individual vegetable gardens and private kitchens for each family on the second level; and, bedrooms for each family on the third level. A large horizontal opening along the long side of the house gives expansive views of the surrounding neighborhood roofscape. On this level, communal areas for dining and gardening bring the individual families together, while smaller dining and relaxation areas that are sectionally lower from the communal area create private nooks for each family. The bedrooms - a series of distinct smaller volumes for each occupant to call their own - receive light from the central atrium of the split gable roof and overlook the communal shared level below.