Dopple-Ganger is a pair of apartment buildings with a communal/recreational bridge joining them. The German word doppelgänger literally means “double walker” and refers to a living double, a simile. The two buildings here are inexact copies of each other, connected with a bar above ground—a dash, if you will. Doppel-Ganger.

This housing complex aims to create space for social interaction as well as interaction with nature. Inspired by the vernacular typology of blocks with courtyards, we attempted to create a similar condition in a multi-story housing block. Thus, we subverted the standard double-loaded corridor and pulled the units to the sides, away from the hallway, which as a result floats free between both sides of the building. This creates an unique opportunity for light, ventilation, and nature to poke through the building, in a hypothetical Gulf Coast city where the climate makes this . Each four apartments face a common light well through which vines grow from ground to roof.

Developed for a studio led by Carrie Norman.