The End of the Office: Live/Work Housing by Juliet Chui

As many people find themselves working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we inhabit our homes must be re-envisioned. This mid-rise housing complex tackles the challenges that tenants experience as more professionals discover that a remote office setup is a viable long-term choice and seek greater work-life flexibility.

Some of the difficulties professionals face that this model addresses include lack of time spent outdoors, less human interaction, and figuring out how to collaborate effectively on Zoom calls when there is a stack of dirty dishes behind you.

This housing complex accommodates a variety of work-from-home typologies:

• The first model allows businesses and shop owners to live above their storefront while living in a separate unit.
• The next model offers separate rentable office units for things such as smaller firms or coworking spaces within the building
• The final concept has a lofted flexible room that can be closed off during work hours for a home office and opened up when not in use to provide extra living space.

To create a work-life balance and support a strong community within the building, a roof deck recreation space, and a central courtyard is proposed. A separate public plaza that is lined by the shops on the ground floor invites the surrounding community. Rather than sitting in their own apartment all day, tenants can go downstairs to the building’s coffee shop or coworking area and work for a few hours. That sense of community can help remote workers replace the breakroom and workplace encounters they no longer have on a daily basis.