Grow Together マイクロハウジング by Yanci Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award 鉄賞 in ソーシャルデザイン Competition Category.

鉄ソーシャル· 2025

Grow Together マイクロハウジング

by Yanci Chen

Client: Ycj Studio

A' Design Award 鉄賞 Winner in ソーシャル Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Grow Together マイクロハウジング

「Grow Together」は、シアトルにおけるホームレス問題に取り組むモジュール式マイクロハウジングプロジェクトです。住宅街の裏庭にコンパクトなオフグリッド型シェルターを配置し、既存のコミュニティに近接した移行期の住まいを提供します。各ユニットは3,000×6,000ミリメートルの寸法を持ち、迅速な組み立てを可能にする直交集成板（CLT）とリサイクルスチールで構築されています。ソーラーパネル、雨水濾過システム、コンポストトイレが自給自足を支えます。共用の温室と柔軟な共同スペースでは、園芸や技能習得のプログラムが行われます。この配置計画はプライバシーを守りながら、社会復帰を促進します。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鉄賞

Grow Together マイクロハウジングは、よく設計された創造物に期待される専門的・産業的要件を満たす優れたデザインに授与される、権威ある評価である A' Design Award 鉄賞の受賞作品です。鉄賞の受賞作品は、制作者の高い技量、高度な専門性、専門家としての理解、創造的な能力を示しています。Grow Together マイクロハウジングは、高く評価され、称賛され、愛される、実用的で革新的な創造物であることが期待されます。この A' Design Award 鉄賞を受賞したデザインは、業界のベストプラクティスを統合し、ノウハウと才能に結びついた有能な技術的特性を備えています。Grow Together マイクロハウジングは、その徹底ぶりで尊敬され、世界をより良い場所にするための生活の質の向上をもたらすよう設計されています。

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