Is the future of cities about connection, not possession?
My work explores how architecture can prioritise connection over ownership — suggesting that what we’re often missing isn’t a physical extension to our home, but the shared spaces and social ties beyond it. I’m particularly interested in how thoughtful residential design can help communities thrive, by creating adaptable, low-impact, and accessible environments that respond to both people and nature.
In my final-year project, I applied this thinking to an overlooked sliver of greenery in central Manchester, where social isolation and a lack of community were key challenges. Using an incremental design process, I began with small interventions like shared vertical gardens and footpaths to improve biodiversity and engage residents. This gradually developed into a modular and customisable, community-led housing proposal with potential to expand across the city, supporting sustainable population growth without sacrificing space or affordability.
Manchester has a unique opportunity to embed shared living into the city’s fabric — learning from the mistakes of places like London, where rapid growth has left a housing stock poorly suited to modern life. Much of our devopments still assume a nuclear family model, yet today’s society increasingly values independence, career flexibility, and friendship networks. My project responds to this shift, designing spaces for how people actually live now, not outdated domestic ideals.
A key focus was creating a balance between shared and private space — from quiet personal rooms to active communal gardens and co-working hubs. Well-designed shared facilities can help to tackle affordability and housing shortages by making more efficient use of space, reducing the pressure for larger, costlier individual homes.
Throughout the project, I explored how modular construction and natural materials like timber and cork could deliver sustainable, adaptable homes that are affordable, low-impact, and well-suited to dense urban environments.
