Matthew Allen wins Clifford Wong Housing Prize
Matthew Allen, MArch ’10, has won the 2009 Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design, which aims to help re-establish the essential role of architects in society to provide not only the fundamental needs of human shelter but to meet the challenge of designing creative solutions for improving living environments. Established in 1991 in memory of Hong Kong architect and developer Clifford C. F. Wong, this honor is awarded annually to a current or graduating student of the Graduate School of Design for the best student project in a design studio or thesis created during the current academic year which has as its primary focus multi-family housing design.
“Housing in the Chinese context is undergoing a period of radical change, says Matthew. “Emerging contradictions are creating profound opportunities; both the government and developers are more open to new ideas than ever before. I saw the Wong Prize as an opportunity to reframe a project originally geared towards the demands of a studio into a practical proposal that could reach a larger audience.”
Images: A well-made system allows easy deployment in multiple sites with variable configurations. This system, designed by Matthew Allen for active preservation, takes into account the constraints needed to make a rigorous system for the creation of multifamily housing that satisfies both modern and traditional notions of livability and can serve as a prototype for new housing developments in Shanghai.