Good Neighbors: An Exhibition

Showcasing the work of three successive undergraduate architectural design studios, Good Neighbors proposes the exploration of space at the domestic scale in the city of Buffalo, which is known as the City of Good Neighbors.

The studio, coordinated by Miguel Guitart, clinical associate professor of architecture, emphasized critical thinking on basic architectural issues through the design proposal of a group of three houses and three workspaces for painting, writing, and composing for three very different families that shared a single undivided lot in the east side of the city of Buffalo.

Each of the houses required an additional small construction as a workspace that served the needs for the creative process of each of these three professionals. The actions of painting, writing, and composing dictated the needs for each of these spaces. In addition, the program required open spaces between each of the houses and the creative space that served each owner. These open spaces also conformed a critical part of the design in terms of narrative and experience. Through the design of the housing units and their relations, each student decided how the new neighbors related to one another. One condition was required: that the six constructions were kept independent from one another.