The Plug-In House
DBEW International Design Competition 2003: Dual Income Single Child Family

The issue of urban residential always includes lack of space within the city, vertical housings development, the financial issues about building housings in the city core, the issues of land value, the concerns of the physical and mental development of children living in overcrowded building units in concrete forest within the city, and so forth. As men and women become equal in many professional areas, it is more acceptable for a household to have two income sources. The family will usually grow into a small family with one child only.

As the family grows, it is necessary that the house can provide spaces that can be used and shared together as a means of tighten up the family bound. The spaces must accommodate situations where the family member can spend time together as much as possible while they are at home, even when doing work at home. It is important that the spaces inside the house become not only for resting and doing household matters but it can also become multifunction spaces that can be used for different functions at the same time. Related to the issues of housings development in the city, it is important that the design of a housing unit that can simplify the spaces for comfort as well as to make the building and the units easy to maintain.

The concept of the Plug-In House is basically a simplification of space utilization for home living. Derived from the Japanese style in interior design with its simplicity and clean spaces, the Plug-In House is designed to put together the utility system as well as hiding them when required. One space is designated to be the placement for all elements of utility system, such as plumbing, electricity, heating, ventilating and air conditioning system and so forth. The space functions that are tightly attached with these utility elements, such as kitchen and bathroom, will also be put together with the utility system, so there will be less equipment and materials needed for connecting the utility system with the rest of the functioning space. Since the utility system and the spaces like kitchen and bathroom are already placed in one 'package', the rest of the functioning spaces will be plugged into the utility system in order to provide comfort for the unit occupants by having the plugged in space utility-system free.

The simplicity of space utilization is also reflected from the multi usage of a space, especially circulating space. For example, the circulating space from the entrance from the entrance to the other end is combined together with the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom.

The Japanese Tatami Living Room cannot be easily ignored. Culture is a significantly important part of life for traditional society for bridging the eastern culture and western culture. It is still strongly maintained in this nuclear era family. The Japanese tatami Living Room is designated for Japanese traditional occasions, such as tea ceremony, and so forth. The Japanese Garden is an important point where the occupants will be entering their home starting by entering the yard first. This reflects the housing concept as coming home to a house with a private yard as supposed to coming home to an apartment that has no yard.

Considering the new millennium era where everything is possible with a little touch of technology, the Plug-In House is equipped with wireless network technology to make connection between equipments and to the internet easier anytime and anywhere from any corner of the house. This enhances the concept of traditionality because there is no need to accommodate modernization, which can be wrapped in traditional style. With the availability of the technology, it is easier for children to develop their intelligence by gaining more information through the internet anywhere in the house without necessarily having special spaces or equipments that could help them learning and be more creative.

The kitchen culture is supported by having the stove put at the same edge with the dining table to make the relationships between each of the family members closer by having one helping the others or even teaching to do the kitchen matters. From here, the communication between the family members grows and becomes stronger each moment and the democracy originates from the kitchen.

The kitchen culture is not only the situation where the family get together to tighten up the family bound. Other spaces are designed to play the similar roles, such as the living room, the home yard and the walk-in closet. Easily accessed from each bedroom, the walk in closet becomes the place where each family member can help each other dressing up everyday. This will also develop a sense of care and share among the family members.

Finally, the space which is intentionally designed to be separated is the bathroom. Considering that a bathroom consists a number of activities and equipment, it is more efficient to design each activity and the related equipment separated from others. This will ease each bathroom usage for the family as well as keeping the sense of share always is among the family.

Related to other similar units inside the building, the plug-in house design provides simplification of utility system maintenance which can be done from the corridor of each floor. Unless necessary, there would not be any maintenance activities disrupting the family activities inside each units.