The Growing House

Jay Starnino

Rural life is incredibly empowering in how capable it makes us, and how connected we become with our usefulness. When visiting Bella Coola the Nuxalk community reminded us of the connectedness, the pride, and the sovereignty gained by living off the land. Rather than prescribing the use of space through built environment 'The Growing House' is a design that allows the architect to step back a bit, and let the user pick size, use, and allocation of the space in their home. By providing the basic shell and services, owners can add outdoor space, additional bedrooms, and outbuilding modules to let the homes grow alongside their community. Like Habraken's 1961 book 'Supports' describes, "it is intended to restore, what is called the 'natural relation' between environmental form and inhabitant, as it was found for millenia before our time." The primary deliverable for this studio was a video. Presentation drawings were prepared using ballpoint and felt pens on Quebec-made art paper, and are irreplacable 1/1's.