Platform.Middle?Architecture for Housing the 99%
By 5468796 Architecture (Arquine, 2024)
 
5468796 Architecture
Winnipeg architecture firm 5468796 is known for working outside of the norm?the puzzle-box Bloc 10, the flying-saucer-like 62M?and their first publication is no exception. Rather than a traditional monograph, platform.MIDDLE is a box set of four volumes. Together, the publication?s components distill lessons learned from 5468796?s portfolio of missing middle housing projects, offering context and practical tools for architects to address housing affordability.
The first of the four books, titled platform.MIDDLE, reports from a symposium of the same name held at IIT?s College of Architecture in 2019. The symposium explored the current state of multi-family housing in North America, and architects? role in shaping its future. The paper version is structured around illustrated summaries of the presentations by architects, developers, and educators who participated in the symposium. Especially engaging are the interludes between these summaries, where the transcripts from panel discussions are excerpted. These discussions point to the complexities of the housing challenge, and the imperatives to shift policy, harness data, and reform regulations, among other drivers for change. Personal stories are interwoven through the conversations. Montreal architect Rami Bebawi, for instance, recalls meeting 5468796 principals Johanna Hurme and Sasa Radulovic soon after foun...