La Cite des enfants : the proposal of collective housing for Dual Income Single Child Family

The family with single child is becoming the most common type as social esprit changes. This phenomenon has appeared because the young couples want more independent life and more successful in work. Especially in Korea the economic burden for kid education is too heavy as excessive education boom. The biggest problem for 'Dual Income Couple' is housework and child. With the advent of electric home appliances and the change of food culture, the workload of the housewife has been reduced. However owing to the lack of basic social system and the indifference of space program, it is as hard as ever to bring up children.
In addition, the lack of time to spend with their parents causes the retard of children's mental development. Also the single child would have the problem of sociality and would be selfish. They need not only their parents but also brothers and sisters. For children of today, I propose "La Cite des enfants" such as children's communal plaza. In this plaza, children play, have social intercourse, help each others and make their place. They could have a share in their affairs and make mutual concessions as friends or brothers and sisters.

1. 1+α, 1+ 1
The base of a family is man and wife. In the contemporary society, having children and living their parents become a choice. So unit household is for a couple and it is supplied through the change of family members. For this competition, I propose 1+1 system; a room for single child is added to the basic house plan for a couple. The couple's life is not dynamic without their child's growth. At the birth of child, the family members increase and the mental or physical development of the child modifies the atmosphere and the life pattern of the family. So the unit household evolve according as the change of child's space.

2. KIDS' PLAYGROUND
Children of today lose their space for playing and the enough time for contact with their friends. They spend their time alone in playing the computer game and doing internet. Their playing pattern has been changed. The qualified space for playing, the space decorated or created by children and the space to meet people in are required for their balanced development. In "La Cite des enfants", one floor of three is offered to children. Kid's rooms are put randomly in this floor, and the left space could be the playground for children. By the composition of the kid's rooms, various spaces such as the corridor, the yard, the empty lot could be created and covered with various materials.

3. KID'S ROOM
Contrary to mental and physical growth of children, the space they occupy is fixed. Generally by moving, Korean people give the change to the space. However the necessity is not the change of the whole house, but only the kid's room. If the system that kid's room is changed by the growth of children, they could economize the charge and the time for moving. The kid's room is modularised in accordance with the rate of children's growth and it is installed by the choice of the clients. It can be exchanged, lent and recycled. By the increase of the expression desire, they are offered to choose the elements of a room and decorate it.

4. MULTI-COMMUNICATION BOOTH
In the heart of the house, multi-communication booth (MCB) is placed. The MCB is composed with a lift, lighting and three Media boards. The lift connects vertically the unit household and the kid's room. It's physical connection. The lighting functions metaphorical connection. We can know if there is anyone by lighting on and the people normally gather around a light. Media boards give the favour of new communication between family members. Each three boards play a part of determining functions and characters of the space that they face to. This MCB helps to coincide with the individual desires of each family member and to create a space where communication, cooperation and binding among family members can harmoniously take place.