Cadavre Exquis
Austin, Texas, 2025
SINGLE STAIR COMPETITION 2025
1ST PLACE WINNER PROJECT
The competition
Innovate in the design of multi-family buildings using unique stair configurations that suit typical US site layouts.
Regulatory context
The need for a second exit has led to a distinctive architectural approach in North America: the double-hallway floor plan. In the United States and Canada, multifamily buildings typically adopt a layout in which a long, straight hallway runs along the narrowest dimension of the structure, with units branching off on either side. This arrangement is common in hotels or student residences in other parts of the world. However, in North America, it has become the predominant and practical method for constructing multifamily housing.
This design concept originates from North American building codes, which require each residential unit to have access to two exits, often via stairways, in addition to meeting fire safety and life safety code requirements. To fulfill the requirement of providing each unit with access to at least two stairways, the hallway design with access from both sides emerges as the optimal solution. However, this arrangement also presents several drawbacks.
Many narrow lots, such as commercial parcels on main streets in high opportunity neighborhoods, are too space-constrained to fit a second stair. This often leads to the practice, known as land assembly, of combining parcels until a lot size suitable for a double-loaded corridor has been created. This practice can turn out to be quite costly. In the case of Los Angeles, this practice of land assembly resulted in a notable increase in land acquisition costs, ranging from 15% to 40%. Additionally, relying on land assembly also consumes time and restricts the available locations for housing development.
Currently, new apartment buildings are heavily skewed toward studio and one-bedroom apartments, with fewer larger housing options available for families. This forces families into older single-family houses or apartments, built before national sprinkler requirements.
The current two staircase exit route requirement in multi-family housing has a profound effect on what does and does not get built in North America. While many cities have endeavored to increase zoning for housing in high opportunity neighborhoods, this push could be thwarted by the difficulties in developing the available lots. Single stair buildings represent a unique opportunity to imagine denser development on smaller scale lots. With this design competition we hope to demonstrate to the public what that future could look like.
The proposal
Following the model of the famous surrealist game "exquisite corpse," where the only rule is to adhere to the syntactic order to create an authentic work of art by multiple hands, the proposal here is not a finished project, but rather a system with basic syntactic rules. This allows for versatility with a number of variations equal to that imagined by the different stakeholders involved in the project (users, municipal organizations, investors, architects, builders, etc.). Thus, the project's constitution—a base relating to the ground, a body, and a roof relating to the sky—allows the building to have its own expression at each of these levels. Furthermore, the principle of the "exquisite corpse" project system is that it can be replicated in different locations, adapting to its specific context and needs, and in turn creating its own identity for its users, thereby encouraging the community to take ownership of the project.
As urban planning strategies, the project proposes enhancing the dual nature of this type of site. On the street side, it proposes widening the sidewalks in certain sections, where trees will be planted. These spaces improve the relationship with the ground floors of the buildings, where shops, offices, and other establishments are located, while also softening the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians. On the other side, towards the alley, the proposal is to transform this service road into a natural and peaceful pedestrian corridor, encouraging pedestrian traffic, exercise, and recreation for people of all ages, as well as the use of alternative modes of transportation such as bicycles, skateboards, etc. Furthermore, this new corridor aims to develop as an urban axis of green and blue infrastructure that, on the one hand, connects different parts of the city through a green environment and, on the other, captures, channels, enhances, and permeates rainwater. Over time, the conversion of several alleyways into slow axes could become an ecological and social strength at the city level, contributing to its long-term development.
PROJECT INFORMATION
location: Austin, Texas, USA / year:2025 / client: Single Stairs Competition 2025 / authors: Taller Alexis Schulman + Christian Calle / collaborators: Carla Bermeo, Camila Vera / mission: competition / status: finished