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Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر by Yanci Chen

Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر by Yanci Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 جائزة A' Design Award الحديدية in التصميم الاجتماعي Competition Category.


حديداجتماعي· 2025

Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر

by Yanci Chen

Client: Ycj Studio

جائزة A' Design Award الحديدية Winner in اجتماعي Category

Colors

The Design

About Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر

"Grow Together" هو مشروع إسكان مُصغّر معياري يعالج مشكلة التشرّد في مدينة سياتل. يضع التصميم مآوى مدمجة مستقلة عن الشبكات في الحدائق الخلفية للمنازل السكنية، مما يوفّر إسكانًا انتقاليًا قريبًا من الأحياء القائمة. تبلغ مساحة كل وحدة 3000 × 6000 مليمتر، وهي مبنية من الخشب الرقائقي المتصالب والفولاذ المُعاد تدويره لتحقيق تجميع سريع. وتدعم الألواح الشمسية وأنظمة ترشيح مياه الأمطار ومراحيض التسميد الاكتفاء الذاتي. وتستضيف الصوبات الزراعية المشتركة والمساحات المجتمعية المرنة برامج للبستنة وبناء المهارات. ويحفظ التوزيع المكاني الخصوصية مع تشجيع الاندماج الاجتماعي من جديد.

The Recognition

About the جائزة A' Design Award الحديدية

Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر هو فائز بجائزة A' Design Award الحديدية، وهي تقدير مرموق يُمنح للتصاميم الجيدة التي تلبّي المتطلبات المهنية والصناعية المنتظرة من الإبداعات حسنة التصميم. ويُظهر الفائزون بالحديدية مهارة كبيرة وتخصصًا عاليًا وفهمًا خبيرًا وقدرة إبداعية لدى صنّاعهم. ويُتوقع أن يكون Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر إبداعًا عالي التقدير ومحل إعجاب وحب، عمليًا ومبتكرًا. وهذا التصميم الفائز بجائزة A' Design Award الحديدية يدمج أفضل ممارسات القطاع، وله خصائص تقنية كفؤة ترتبط بالدراية والموهبة. ويحظى Grow Together الإسكان المُصغّر بالاحترام لدقته، وقد صُمّم لتقديم تحسينات لجودة الحياة تساعد على جعل العالم مكانًا أفضل.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Grow Together is an intergenerational community hub that integrates adaptive architecture, urban farming, and sustainable living. The design fosters cross-generational exchange through modular housing, shared greenhouses, and flexible communal spaces. Utilizing biophilic principles, passive cooling, and circular material strategies, it enhances resilience and well-being. Its unique strength lies in fostering social cohesion while promoting ecological responsibility and self-sufficiency.
Dimensions & Packaging
Grow Together features modular micro-housing units measuring 3,000mm (W) x 6,000mm (D) x 3,200mm (H), designed for easy deployment in residential backyards. Each unit incorporates off-grid solar panels, a rainwater filtration system, and composting toilets for self-sufficiency. The lightweight CLT and recycled steel structure allows for rapid assembly. Shared community hubs range from 20m² to 50m², integrating urban farming zones and flexible gathering spaces for reintegration programs.
Tags
micro-housing, intergenerational living, homelessness solution, modular architecture, urban farming, off-grid shelter, sustainable design, community reintegration, adaptive reuse, social impact
Production Technology
Grow Together utilizes prefabricated modular construction, integrating cross-laminated timber (CLT), recycled steel frames, and bio-based insulation for sustainability and efficiency. The design employs passive solar strategies, rainwater harvesting, and off-grid energy solutions to ensure self-sufficiency. Digital parametric modeling and AI-assisted spatial optimization guided the form and layout, maximizing adaptability, privacy, and seamless integration within existing urban fabric.
Design Challenge
The greatest challenge in Grow Together was balancing privacy and social reintegration while ensuring scalability and feasibility. Socially, resistance to backyard shelters required design solutions that reassured homeowners and preserved neighborhood aesthetics. Legally, zoning restrictions and permitting posed barriers. Technologically, optimizing off-grid utilities in a compact form was complex. Overcoming these required community engagement, modular innovation, and adaptive policy integration.
Research
Grow Together is based on social impact and architectural research addressing homelessness in Seattle. The objective was to explore backyard micro-housing as a transitional solution for reintegration. Using case studies, interviews, and spatial analysis, data was collected from homeowners, social workers, and unhoused individuals. Findings highlight the need for privacy, community engagement, and self-sufficiency. The project fosters scalable, community-driven solutions, influencing urban policy and inclusive design.
Inspiration
Grow Together is inspired by the urgent social challenge of homelessness in Seattle and the growing willingness of residents to share their backyards for micro/off-grid shelters. The project reimagines communal reintegration through modular, self-sustaining dwellings that offer transitional housing for individuals seeking to reconnect with society. By integrating adaptive architecture and urban farming, it fosters dignity, autonomy, and social inclusion.
Project Duration
March 2024 Seattle
Operation Flow
Grow Together operates as a flexible micro-housing solution that reintegrates individuals experiencing homelessness into the community. Homeowners can install modular units in their backyards, providing temporary, self-sustaining shelters. Residents engage in shared gardening, skill-building, and social programs in communal spaces. The adaptable design ensures privacy while fostering interaction, creating a supportive transition toward permanent housing and social reintegration.
Patents
Copyrights belong to Yanci Chen
Team Members
Yanci Chen
Image Credits
Yanci Chen

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