Transitional Housing

Dwelling · New Haven, CT · 2020

Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020 · Critics: Beka Sturges, Adam Hopfner

Jack Rusk with Lilly Agutu, Audrey Hughes, Janelle Schmidt, Wenzhu Shentu, Jun Shi, Hao Xu, and Yang Yue

This two-unit dwelling for formerly houseless individuals was designed for Columbus House—a New Haven, CT, nonprofit—as a competition entry for the 2020 Jim Vlock Building Project. The transition from a temporary homelessness to a rich and long-term domesticity is at the heart of this project. This dwelling also develops the concept of a transition to accommodate the changes in the occupant’s life over time. As the years pass and the residents age, both units are designed to accommodate their aging in place.

Building and site plan of a two-unit house among trees, with paths and gardens — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)

Photo of a half-inch scale building model with a sloped roof, timber cladding and deep window openings — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)

Photo of an eighth-inch scale wooden site model showing the house and a long landscape strip — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)

Sequence of seven sections keyed to the plan of the two-unit house — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)

Site plan and street section showing the house's lot on West Division Street in New Haven — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)

Perspectival section through the house showing rooms, furniture and a figure at a table under the skylit roof — from Transitional Housing, a two-unit dwelling by Jack Rusk and collaborators (Yale School of Architecture, Spring 2020)