If a maker creates something and no one is around to share it with, does it really exist? 

Scrabble is an innovative housing project generated by a personal interpretation of the Maker Movement. Located in Dogpatch, San Fransisco, Scrabble seeks to act as a vessel for connecting young makers and creating a community that celebrates sharing. Its aim is a fun and playful space conducive to creativity and innovation. The goal is to create camaraderie that empowers those who experience Scrabble by integrating sharing into each space and those in-between. With the inhabitants providing the knowledge and fuel for creativity, the building itself provides spaces and tools that shape the experience of the users, while allowing enough chaos to allow creativity to grow naturally.

Sharing is the exchange of knowledge and inspiration between individuals. If we transform our interactions to celebrate sharing, we can create a cycle of making and a legacy of young makers. 

Program

Sharing is the vital ingredient that holds it all together. It lives in every possible form in this building that fuels collaboration and innovation; it is both program and circulation. Program is concrete and defined, designed for particular levels of sharing. In contrast, circulation allows a freedom of sharing that can be both intentional and accidental. Both parts are flexible for the users, but circulation creates a journey for sharing. 

Living + Sharing

The residents of Scrabble range from late teens to young adults, living in apartments with shared bathrooms. Four to six residents can stay within a unit, with arrangements varying between single to shared rooms. Between residential spaces exist assorted, undetermined spaces for the residents to use as they see fit. Housing is clustered and open to allow for “accidental sharing” and discovery as well.

Working + Sharing

Scrabble consists of multiple forms of working and sharing spaces. The level of sharing and interaction decreases as the spaces become more private.

Maker Cafe: juxtaposed in the middle of Makers’ Alley, the Maker Cafe sits on the second floor to provide a more quiet and intimate setting for the public to interact with other makers.

Makers’ Alley: is a big draw for the public to come and interact with makers. While the event space gives opportunity to smaller scale makers, it also has more permanent shops run by the residents.

Communal workspace: vary in accessibility depending on its location and time. These spaces are always open for the residents, and can become more public to hold classes and workshops.