For a recent client, I created a conceptual approach to affordable housing. I would love to engage the community into the exterior architecture by selecting one or more artists from the area, creating a paint scheme that might include mural or scenic painting, and then collaborate with the artist(s) to implement these in the construction. The result would be a colorful and unique temporary residential environment.
The site is a very secluded 5 acre area that is accessed through the parking lot of a church, and is behind a small wetlands. Surrounding it are commercial, industrial and residential backyards. The place appears to be fit for approximately 100 to 110 affordable housing units arranged in three buildings.
The center building is the smallest and would include a medical clinic and some live/work studio units. These are in line along a shaded sidewalk.
The community engagement aspect is simply the application of the artist's color scheme onto the buildings. This could be done with some volunteer work (the future residents?) or under the supervision of the painting subcontractor.
A sample of this idea is shown below:
