Reimagining Collective Living Through Floors
Sonali Mistry
2025
Growing up in a multigenerational household in New Jersey, the family’s way of gathering mirrored traditional courtyard homes in India, where open, flexible spaces encouraged communal living. Furniture was pushed aside to create expansive floor areas, allowing the family to gather for events such as religious ceremonies, meals, and work. Upon immigrating to the U.S., the family’s new home, with its rigid and compartmentalized spaces, felt isolating. To adapt, furniture was removed, and the space was reimagined as an open, adaptable environment. This experience inspired a proposal for an alternative living space, one without walls, where flexible, thickened floor spaces replace traditional rooms. The design fosters collective living by allowing spaces to evolve based on need. The final concept takes the layout of the family’s original home and transforms it into a unified thickened floor space, with functions occurring inside the floor. The adaptable "pockets" can be adjusted to suit the family’s needs, promoting connection and flexibility.