The Intergenerational Commons ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ by Yi Lu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ in ᱟᱨᱠᱤᱴᱮᱠᱪᱟᱨ, ᱤᱢᱟᱨᱚᱛ ᱟᱨ ᱜᱟᱲᱚᱱ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ Competition Category.
ᱠᱟᱥᱟᱟᱨᱠᱤᱴᱮᱠᱪᱟᱨ· 2026
The Intergenerational Commons ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ
by Yi Lu
Client: Yi Lu
A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ Winner in ᱟᱨᱠᱤᱴᱮᱠᱪᱟᱨ Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #182604The Design
About The Intergenerational Commons ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ
ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ ᱱᱟ�744ᱟ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ ᱫᱚ Stuyvesant Town ᱠᱚ ᱱᱟᱶᱟ ᱡᱩᱜᱽ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱡᱟᱹᱛ ᱛᱟᱞᱟ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ ᱞᱮᱠᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱫᱚᱦᱚ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱟᱭᱮᱱ ᱞᱮᱠᱟᱛᱮ ᱫᱚᱦᱚ ᱛᱮ, ᱦᱟᱲᱟᱢᱜᱚᱜ ᱠᱟᱱ ᱢᱟᱨᱟᱝ superblock ᱫᱚ ᱢᱮᱱᱟᱜ ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱡᱤᱭᱚᱱ ᱞᱮᱠᱟ ᱦᱩᱭ ᱚᱠᱚᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱱᱟᱶᱟ ᱛᱮ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱯᱚᱰᱤᱭᱟᱢ ᱫᱚ ᱢᱟᱨᱟᱝᱠᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱮᱬᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱫᱤᱱ ᱫᱤᱱ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱩᱛᱷᱟᱹᱣ ᱠᱚ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱛᱮ ᱡᱚᱲᱟᱣ ᱠᱟᱛᱮ ᱫᱚᱦᱚᱭᱟ, ᱟᱨ ᱪᱷᱟᱹᱛ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱠᱤᱱᱰᱟᱨᱜᱟᱨᱴᱮᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱡᱟᱹᱛ ᱛᱟᱞᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱡᱚᱛᱚ ᱡᱟᱹᱛ ᱢᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱢᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱡᱚᱲᱟᱣ ᱚᱠᱟᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱴᱮᱨᱮᱥ ᱟᱨ ᱵᱟᱜᱟᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱠᱚᱴᱷᱮᱱ ᱠᱤᱱᱟᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱞᱚᱛᱟ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱜᱼᱟ, ᱴᱷᱟᱶ ᱠᱚ ᱥᱟᱢᱟᱡᱤᱠ ᱵᱮᱵᱚᱥᱛᱷᱟ ᱛᱮ ᱵᱚᱫᱚᱞ ᱠᱟᱛᱮ ᱟᱨ ᱟᱜᱟᱢ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱟᱦᱟᱨ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱡᱤᱭᱚᱱ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱛᱤᱡᱩ ᱞᱮᱠᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨᱚᱜᱼᱟ ᱾
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ
The Intergenerational Commons ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ ᱫᱚ A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ ᱧᱟᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱫᱚ ᱱᱟᱣᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱛᱮ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱮᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱥᱚᱢᱟᱱ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾ ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱫᱚ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱᱟᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱠᱟᱢᱤ ᱡᱷᱟᱞᱠᱟᱣ ᱠᱚ᱾ The Intergenerational Commons ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱚᱲᱟᱜ ᱫᱚ ᱠᱚᱞᱟ, ᱣᱤᱜᱭᱟᱱ, ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱟᱨ ᱴᱮᱠᱱᱚᱞᱚᱡᱤ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱤᱢᱟ ᱵᱟᱲᱦᱟᱣ ᱟᱨ ᱫᱩᱱᱤᱭᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱜᱚᱲᱚ ᱮᱢ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾
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.
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