Mountain Hive

Mountain Hive; co-living facility in Edwards, CO; conceptual design.

The Mountain Hive is an exploration into an all-inclusive co-living space aimed at providing community oriented housing options for the workforce of Vail Valley. This project focuses on housing individuals and couples, with its design not being particularly family oriented. This provides a housing option that is a growing necessity for the predominantly service-oriented workforce in Vail. Our concept focused on cost and flexibility. We proposed pre-fabricated modulars to reduce construction time and cost while maintaining quality work. In terms of flexibility, we designed a “super structure” that is simple and repetitive to house the modulars. The rigidity of the “super structure” and the inherent spontaneity of the modules creates an architectural dichotomy that is easily adaptable and customizable. Our idea was to create two “pods” that concentrate 12-18 units around a shared living space, which are mirrored over the shared kitchen and dining area. These two pods with their shared kitchen, dining and two living spaces make up a floor.

Since the actual living areas are modular by design, the possibilities for interior organization are just about limitless. We tried our hand at creating a few different concepts to explore possible layouts within the different unit types, but the final layout can vary greatly depending on a few factors such as: different variations on the same sized unit, anticipated amenities, furniture types (and if they change per unit type), et cetra. With this modular concept that keeps the design simple and repetitive it allows for the customization/flexibility of the interior to be the star of the show. With this type of design, there is an added level of cost control (in construction as well as unit variation), while still maintaining a quality housing project.