UrbanMODe

FXCollaborative designed UrbanMODe for World Architecture News' Urban Challenge competition. Conceived as a response to London's housing crisis, UrbanMODe accommodates 996 affordable homes built over a railway cut using next-generation modular construction technology. The 1.6-hectare plan is composed of a contextually-sensitive mix of typologies, ranging from town houses to a high-rise tower. Mid-rise "bars" of apartments, set back and above street-level townhouses, span nearly the full width of the site, allowing for a landscaped public garden to be built over the railway. By using a lightweight, modular system of construction based on the standardized dimensions of the global shipping industry, UrbanMODe demonstrates a potential for creating low-cost, high-quality housing with drastically reduced construction times. In combination with the diverse range of scales represented in the plan, UrbanMODe provides the density needed to realize an affordable development model while maintaining contextual sensitivity.