Increasing urbanization has given rise to the phenomena of vertical aging: seniors downsizing into apartment buildings, co-ops and condos not originally built for seniors.

Working together with our partners at UHN’s Open Lab, this report studies this trend from a spatial stand point to understand the architectural characteristics of these buildings and how we might modify them to adapt to their new users.

Cite: Humanics, & UHN OpenLab (2020). Vertical Aging: The Future of Aging in Place in Urban Canada, Social Spaces (No. 3). UHN OpenLab.

http://verticalaging.uhnopenlab.ca/wpcontent/
uploads/2020/09/SocialSpaces_20-09-16.pdf 

︎ Kathleen Fu
︎ Jonathan Enns
︎ UHN OpenLab

<download report>



2018–00–00

Tetracell is part of ongoing research into architectural structures for open ended growth.

This system is a binary - comprised of two parts that allow the generation of both frames and brick-like structures.  

Photos by: Cecilia Lo, Sarah Hasan, Irina Rouby Apelbaum

︎ Jonathan Enns
 

2018–00–00

Geometric research into open modularity.

Burr allows flexible and fluid space filling ca-pabilities from identical base units. The goal was ultimate flexibility from maximum repetition.

Photos by: Cecilia Lo, Sarah Hasan, Irina Rouby Apelbaum

︎ Jonathan Enns
 

2018–00–00

Geometric research into open modularity.

Hexblock allows self similar pairing - meaning you only need one repeated geometry for growth. By changing the nature of the mating detail - different aggregation possibilities are enabled. Hexblock is a project in search of maximum flexibility from a minimum number of parts.

Photos by: Cecilia Lo, Sarah Hasan, Irina Rouby Apelbaum

︎ Jonathan Enns
 

Block Builder
2018–00–00

Block Builder lets non architects lay out designs modularly.

Modules proportioned to individual apartment units embed mechanical and structural constraints to prevent users from designing structural configurations that would be impossible at 1:1.

Each scaled block is held to the adjacent one with a connecting clip - and physically constrained by a ball bering.

Photos by: Cecilia Lo, Sarah Hasan, Irina Rouby Apelbaum

︎ Jonathan Enns
 





Researchers: 

2022    Natalie Kopp       
2021    Kathleen Fu         
2020    Maighdlyn Hadley 
2019    Aleks Gontarz    
2018    Jessie Croll        
©Humanics Lab 2020 jonathan.enns@uwaterloo.ca