Collectivization is a strong and coherent alternative to the tattered corpse of the American Dream. After sixty years of sprawl, foreclosure, class stratification and design failure it is time to explore how housing can evolve and actively serve the act of dwellign in away that bolsters community ties. We are all familiar with the phrase it takes a village to raise a child; I propose that it takes a village to raise each other and with the future so uncertain it is imperative that planners, architects and designers strive towards a tighter woven social fabric. I propose a first a step:

Cascadia Cohousing rises from the movement to create stronger bio-regional identity which is independent of city and state,from the push for super-local economics and for food security. The program brings together mixed-use and mixed-class units in a single complex containing 400 square foot studios up to 2000 square foot 2 bedroom live/work lofts. Included are flexible retail spaces to be used by residents as well as a co-operative grocery based on Portland’s own People’s Food Co-op.

The design aims primarily towards food security, oriented to maximize growing conditions on rooftop terraced gardens. The architecture takes aims to create a place for transcendence American individualism and allows for a stronger sense we. To this end units are clustered around common rooms which make up a common house, dominating the northeast corner. This is a place where residents have childcare space, library and reading space, cooking and dining space and finally spiritual space at the highest elevation, looking over
contrasting views of Mt. Hood and the city center.

The ample common space allows for a higher density of smaller units. These smaller private spaces include transformable furniture integrated into prefabricated wall units which fold out into seating and eating space and provide storage. The project accomplishes almost total block coverage of green space broken up into
various green roofed terraces which are programmed for both occupiable and productive gardens.

The site’s history is not forgotten, only adapted. The iconic car lot canopy becomes both an awning and interior furniture for the two bedroom live/work lofts and serves as a catalyst for further design moves.

The design incorporates strategies for grey water use, rainwater retention and water treatment, passive solar gain and cross ventilation cooling through operable windows, and a hallways screening system which reinforces the over-all sense of one’s presence in a place that is at once a ruin, hanging garden and living structure.