Grounded in the tidal ecologies of Esbjerg’s coastal landscape, the project sits within a larger masterplan proposal on a recently reclaimed piece of land, forming the new “Esbjerg Strand”. Situated on a key access point, the project acts as a gatehouse to the wider neighbourhood with an activated ground floor that houses a tool library, grocery store, educational kitchen, library and nursery, for different generations and residents to access and use. Clad with a Danish handmade clay tile product, the proposal is modern whilst using a vernacular product with a solid appearance. Complimenting this, parts of the cladding are composed of timber to correspond to the gathering spaces internally, with a lighter appearance.
Exploring how soft boundaries, sensory-driven design, and spatial flexibility can foster meaningful connections across generations, the architecture allows elderly residents and children to interact within different parts of the public programme, including a shared educational kitchen and garden, art and exercise workshops, and library, and within circulatory spaces; the ‘in-betweens’. The ‘in-betweens’ exist throughout the project at different scales, relating to inside and out, land and water, and the spaces of encounter between the individual and community, allowing an individual to naturally situate themselves within the social field.
The thesis draws from research into the benefits of intergenerational architecture and non-institutional models of care to propose a more interconnected alternative. Fluid-Boundaries proposes an architectural framework that responds to and fosters a new model of living across ages and needs within the environmental rhythms. This thesis envisions a built environment that fosters exchange between the young and old, where learning, support, and care coexist fluidly both within this architecture and the wider masterplan.
