Sigurds Kakulis, “Housing Milwaukee: Graft as Densification”
Mentor: Palmyra Geraki, Architecture, Architecture & Urban Planning (School of)
Poster #15
As detailed in the book Evicted by Matthew Desmond, housing insecurity is a prevalent issue facing the city of Milwaukee, often disproportionately affecting black and brown communities. Housing shortages and steady increases in rent have made it increasingly difficult to maintain stable and reliable housing for individuals. To resolve this shortage of affordable housing we must examine the fact that much of the housing stock in the city exists as either single- or two-family dwellings from an era where housing was not only more reliable to obtain but culturally tied to the individual family unit. In our time the issue that arises from these fast fields of houses is one of density, where a relatively large amount of space is dedicated to housing a handful of people. With this in mind, we have carefully studied and selected city blocks around Milwaukee where we aim to reimagine housing typologies through dynamic and intentional design interventions with the goal of increasing the density of inhabitants on the sites without disrupting the existing fabric of the neighborhood. Additionally, we explore the restructuring of political and cultural dynamics associated with these dwellings that focus on how community and shared responsibility can aid in providing affordable solutions for individuals.