The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka by Yi Lu

The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka by Yi Lu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Keleawe in Hoʻolālā Hale, Kūkulu a me Hōʻuluʻulu Competition Category.

KeleaweHoʻolālā Hale· 2026

The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka

by Yi Lu

Client: Yi Lu

A' Design Award Keleawe Winner in Hoʻolālā Hale Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka

Ke wehewehe hou nei kēia papahana hoʻoponopono hale noho iā Stuyvesant Town ma ke ʻano he kumu hoʻohālike hou no ka noho ʻana o nā hanauna like ʻole. Ma o ka hoʻohana hou ʻana e kūpono ai, lilo ka hui hale kahiko i kaiaola noho hale papapapa. Hui pū ʻia kahi kahua i hoʻōla hou ʻia me ke aʻo ʻana o nā ʻelemakule a me ka hoʻololi lā, aʻo ma nā kula kamaliʻi ma ke kaupaku e hoʻopili hou ai i nā hanauna ma kahi kokoke. Hoʻopalupalu nā papahele a me nā māla i nā lihi ʻoʻoleʻa, e hoʻololi ana i ka paʻapū i ʻōnaehana pilikanaka a e hoʻokumu ana i kumu hoʻohālike kūpaʻa no ka noho ʻana ma ke kūlanakauhale o ka wā e hiki mai ana.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Keleawe

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka i ka A' Design Award Keleawe, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kūʻokoʻa i ʻike ʻia ma o ka hana noʻeau, ka akamai a me ka makakoho. He mau hana mākaukau a hana noʻeau kupaianaha nā lanakila Keleawe e hōʻoia ana i ka ʻike nui, ka noʻonoʻo a me ka maʻalea o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka he mea i mahalo nui ʻia, hoʻohiwahiwa ʻia a aloha ʻia, he ʻoihana a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Keleawe e hoʻohui ana i nā hana maikaʻi loa o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana, a maikaʻi no kona nānā ʻana i nā kikoʻī. Hoʻokō maikaʻi ka hoʻolālā The Intergenerational Commons Hana Nui: Noho Kanaka i nā pono, hoʻopā i ka makemake, hoʻohiwahiwa i nā manaʻo a huki i ka makemake e ʻike.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Memento (the Intergenerational Commons) redefines Stuyvesant Town as a contemporary model for intergenerational housing. Through adaptive reuse, the aging superblock becomes a layered residential ecosystem. A revitalized podium integrates senior learning and daily exchange, while rooftop kindergartens reconnect generations in close proximity. Terraces and gardens soften rigid edges, transforming density into social infrastructure and establishing a resilient paradigm for future urban living.
Dimensions & Packaging: Primary structure: steel frame with brick infill façade; residential use retained for approx. 75–85% of floor area.
Public conversion zones: ground-level 1,200 m² community hub + stacked shared terraces (3,600 mm depth).
Modular additions: 3,600 mm bays; lightweight steel framing; reversible connections; green roof system 300 mm.
Tags: Affordable housing retrofit, residential transformation, adaptive reuse, vertical commons, community spine, aging-friendly housing, intergenerational support, low-disruption renovation, scalable urban model
Production Technology: The project preserves the majority of the building as housing while surgically converting select zones into shared social infrastructure. Using a low-disruption retrofit strategy—steel reinforcement, reversible insertions, bolt-on terraces, and prefabricated community modules—the design creates continuous vertical and horizontal commons within the existing brick shell. A standardized kit-of-parts system ensures cost control, phased construction, and replicability for aging urban housing stock.
Design Challenge: The key challenge was transforming an aging residential structure without undermining its primary housing function. Structural constraints, code compliance, budget limits, and resident continuity required precision. The design had to introduce meaningful public space through minimal intervention—balancing density, safety, affordability, and social impact within an existing steel-and-brick framework.
Research: Type of Research: Applied design research.
Research Objectives: Develop a scalable model for renewing aging residential buildings through limited yet high-impact spatial conversion.
Methodology: Adaptive reuse, program layering, and vertical/horizontal commons integration.
Data/Tools: Demographic aging data, precedent analysis, BIM coordination, daylight, and circulation simulations.
Participants: Multi-generational residential case studies.
Results: Increased shared access and daily proximity.
Insights/Impacts: Strengthens intergenerational support networks and offers a replicable pathway for affordable urban housing renewal.
Inspiration: The project was inspired by the growing social fragmentation within high-density housing and the increasing generational separation in contemporary cities. Research on social isolation, aging populations, and child development informed the proposal. The design explores adaptive reuse as a strategy to transform postwar housing into a resilient, layered residential ecosystem that integrates care, learning, and daily life within close spatial proximity.
Project Duration: The project concept was initiated in September 2020 and concluded in January 2022 in New York City, United States. The design proposes a phased, low-cost renewal strategy that maintains residential occupancy while selectively converting underused areas into shared community infrastructure.
Operation Flow: Residents continue everyday living in their homes, while new commons support shared routines. A horizontal community spine activates ground-level life; a vertical network of stairs, lifts, and terraces connects floors into one continuous social landscape. Seniors and children occupy overlapping yet flexible zones, enabling natural encounters and informal care. Interaction remains optional, preserving privacy while strengthening mutual support.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Yi Lu, 2022.
Team Members: Yi Lu
Image Credits: Image #1: Architectural Rendering Yi Lu, Memento: The Intergenerational Commons, 2022.
Image #2: Architectural Rendering Yi Lu, Memento: The Intergenerational Commons, 2022.
Image #3: Architectural Rendering Yi Lu, Memento: The Intergenerational Commons, 2022.
Image #4: Architectural Rendering Yi Lu, Memento: The Intergenerational Commons, 2022.
Image #5: Architectural Rendering Yi Lu, Memento: The Intergenerational Commons, 2022.