Suburban housing is organized around an assumption of permanence, where the house operates as an isolated unit. The fires in Altadena exposed this fragility. As homes burned, the networks that sustained communities began to unravel. This project proposes a shift away from a model that enables community displacement toward one that supports communities during periods of instability. It reimagines the suburban block as a collective housing system, prioritizing proximity and shared space over individual parcels. Elevation and fire-responsive strategies provide a layer of protection within the landscape. Instead of preserving the single-family house, the project sustains community relationships.
