The Goldilocks Module
2021
Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)
Location: Global
Size: 12 Units
In preparation for TED’s 2021 Countdown Summit in Edinburgh, Scotland, a conference aimed at addressing the global climate emergency, the team at PAU developed an ultra sustainable, mid-density housing prototype to showcase the possibility of housing a rapidly growing global population. The work was presented as part of the TED Talk entitled “A Vision of Sustainable Housing for all of Humanity,” an ambitious scheme to help provide affordable housing for a projected population growth of one billion in the next 75 years. By finding a sweet-spot of housing density, this 12 unit, 14,000 SF apartment block seeks to fill the missing middle scale of residences that has been gradually disappearing from the global housing stock. It is constructed of simple, available materials based on geographic location, wood in the global north, brick in the global south. It also relies on efficient and proven methods to achieve a carbon neutral footprint. This includes photovoltaic cells on the roof with deep cycle batteries for long term storage, clean energy grid connection for off-peak energy sharing, geothermal and passive heating and cooling, and composting for solid waste. Together, these strategies aim to create an uncomplicated, yet high performance building package that can be easily deployed. Their scale hopes to create vibrant urban communities.
