Designing a Life Simulation

YOUnite is a modular rehabilitation center designed to support formerly incarcerated individuals in their reintegration into society. The project aims to provide not only a safe and restorative environment but also an opportunity for structured daily life, basic skill development, and meaningful public interaction.

The site is divided into two distinct zones:

The active/public zone, located near the road, includes workshops, a café, and service areas that enable interaction with the local community.

The residential/private zone is positioned deeper into the site and contains housing units, therapy spaces, and meditation areas. This layout supports a daily rhythm moving from inward reflection to outward activity.

The spatial system is based on a 2x2 meter modular grid, repeated and combined to form various functions. All structures—from 6x8m residential clusters to 12x8m workshops—are scaled versions of this base module. This creates construction simplicity, spatial coherence, and adaptability across the site.

Daily life is structured around routine and responsibility. Users participate in repair workshops (bicycles, scooters, electronics), garden maintenance, shared cooking, and community services. These activities are intentionally paired with simple technological tools such as navigation apps, digital order tracking, or shared digital schedules—allowing residents to slowly adapt to the demands of modern life.

Public engagement is designed around mutual benefit. Local people access affordable services, while residents earn income, build confidence, and break social stigmas through direct, productive contact.

Architecturally, the project emphasizes low-scale, natural-material modular buildings organized around green corridors and shared courtyards. The atmosphere is calm, clear, and non-institutional—focusing on autonomy, dignity, and gradual social reintegration.

YOUnite proposes a spatial system where healing and productivity are not opposites, but complementary forces within a structured yet flexible environment.

This project started with a simple question I kept asking myself:

“What happens to people after prison—especially those who have been locked away from technology, routine, and connection for years?”

I didn’t want to design just a space to live in. I wanted to design a system—a soft framework where healing, learning, and adapting could happen together.

The idea of using a 2x2 grid helped me create something calm and structured. I liked that it gave clarity without feeling rigid. From housing to workshops, every function fits into that grid, like pieces of a bigger routine.

Looking back, I think the strongest design decision I made was to treat the center as a kind of life simulation. I divided the site into two distinct zones and created a clear physical and psychological boundary between them.

The side farther from the road became more like a neighborhood—home-like and inward: housing units, a shared kitchen, community spaces.

The side closer to the road was shaped around production and interaction—workshops, a café, and service points where people from outside could visit.

Just like in real life, where we move between work and home, I wanted the users of this center to experience that rhythm while still in a supportive environment. It was important for me to make them feel the weight—and freedom—of responsibility again, but gradually, in a place that wouldn’t overwhelm them.

So I designed a place where people could live, work, reflect, and reconnect. Not in isolation, but in balance.