This project faced both external and internal challenges. The external challenge was placing a ten-storey building next to a five-storey neighbour. To harmonise this juxtaposition, large voids were created in the western and northern facades, lightening the volume as much as possible while a material strategy made the building's ascent appear stepped. On the main facade, these voids became relatively large green spaces that separate the homes from the busy main street and lend a verdant character to the elevation.
The internal challenge was creating open spaces with six-metre ceiling heights. The question was how to provide such spaces for every unit without making the apartments duplex and without creating unwanted sightlines -- spaces that would move from the periphery to become the main living area, the entrance to the home, and a small private courtyard.
The front yard of the building has been given over to the city as open green space without any fencing. These were the technical challenges of the project. But the larger question the project poses is: how does one design a "home"?