The Davidson Prize

A proposal to make the spaces in between buildings work harder by rebalancing the net to gross ratios of future developments. Taking the recommended minimum spaces standards of the London Housing Design Guide as a starting point, Shifting Perspectives sets out to extend the current focal range to communal spaces such as entrances, cores and shared amenity space.

With no current requirement for these ‘threshold’ spaces to be generous, well-lit or to provide alternative uses, communal space is often subject to value engineering, being reduced in scale and down-specified in order to achieve an efficient net to gross ratio for developer viability appraisals.

Shifting Perspectives argues that the solution is a new type of inspirational, flexible space for co-working, communal dining and community events. Taking the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell as a starting point, it investigates a new typology for shared space beyond the home where food, experiences and knowledge can all be shared.

Threefold
Renee Searle, Ryan Hakimian

The Liminal Space
Sarah Douglas, David MacDiarmid