Better Alone

Abstract: My thesis project, Better Alone focuses on single person households from a perspective of loneliness. The objective has been to find an architectural solution to decrease experienced loneliness. In this project I intend to address the issue and design a way of living that can relieve the experience of involuntary loneliness. I have used two main strategies: the first is to provide space for social interaction in connection to the home and to create reasons to enter and linger in these spaces. The second main strategy is to blur or stretch the border that separates the home into privacy through visibility. The project's site is  in southern Stockholm, in between the neighborhoods Hammarbyhöjden and Hammarby sjöstad, a fairly central location. The site's most prominent characteristic is the fact that it is a steep slope. At the bottom of the slope runs Hammarbyvägen, which is a fairly busy road. Together these two aspects create a barrier between the neighborhoods of Hammarby sjöstad and Hammarbyhöjden, these are challenges that I have addressed in the project.