Katharina Kral: Housing as a Verb

Abstract

Housing as a Verb draws inspiration from John F. C. Turner’s influential work, which reframed housing as an ongoing, adaptive process rather than a fixed commodity shaped by human actions and experiences and by the dynamic interaction between people and their environment.

The exhibition examines 312 residential buildings across New York City, offering two perspectives: a typological analysis that deliberately isolates buildings from their context and a functional, performative analysis emphasizing visual relationships, spatial versatility, and materiality in dense urban settings. These complementary studies aim to unpack the challenges and opportunities of a holistic retrofitting approach that foregrounds livability alongside sustainability. The exhibition features ongoing research from Cornell AAP’s Housing Innovation Lab led by Department of Architecture Lecturer Katharina Kral and selected work from the Fall 2023 elective seminar, The Better Life, supported by A&E Real Estate Holdings.

Housing Innovation Lab Team:  

Marcos Escamilla-Guerrero (M.S. AAD ’24), Nathan Gach (B.Arch. ’25), Jaeha Kim (Ph.D. Candidate, Systems Engineering), Jihoon Kim (M.S. AAD ’25), Linda Lin (B.Arch. ’25), Angelique Meza (B.Arch. ’26), Justin Mortman (B.Arch. ’25).

Students in the Fall 2023 elective seminar, The Better Life:

Osiel Aldaba (B.Arch. ’26), Lily Mager (B.Arch. ’26), Marlee Barnes (M.Arch. ’23), Abhitha Batikeri (B.Arch. ’25), Yeou-Uei Chai (M.S. AAD ’24), Marcos Escamilla-Guerrero (M.S. AAD ’24), Malika Johnson (M.Arch. ’25), Vedika Khushalani (M.Arch. ’25), Leah Lawson (M.Arch. ’25), Evan Levy (M.Arch. ’24), Yang Li (M.S. AAD ’24), Juan Agustin Rivera Gonzalez de Cossio (M.S. AAD ’24), Angelique Meza (B.Arch. ’26), Roxana Mora (B.Arch. ’26), Ronishka Sabu Nalpathil (M.S. AAD ’24), Qingmai Ni (M.Arch. ’23), José Ortega (B.Arch. ’26), Kayla Soler (M.Arch. ’25), Yan Sotolongo (B.Arch. ’24), Zifan Wang (M.Arch. ’25), Guorun Yang (M.Arch. ’25), Annie Zhang (M.S. AAD ’24).