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Michaella
Belonging is inter mixing different types of people, cultures, scales, architecture, landscapes to create vibrant communities that are all intermixed and easy to travel to and from.
Their Story
Michaella experiences home as something that shifts with life stages: less an address than the people who make her feel cared for. When she arrives somewhere new, she rebuilds belonging through routines and low-pressure "third spaces" where repeat encounters can happen naturally. As a designer, she focuses on how small-scale pockets of program and landscape can make face-to-face connection easier, and argues affordable housing needs a community-building layer to truly support belonging.
In Their Words
"I think… home for me is more like the people and the belonging, rather than like the space that I'm in."
"Every time that I've moved to a new place where I know virtually no one… I always like to set up routines. By hoping that like going to specific places at specific times, you're gonna meet the same people or see the same people everyday."
"I think specifically for me, it ends up being my night stand… having my lamp and my glass of water… wherever I move, I end up bringing the nightstand with me, because it has everything I need."
"When you're in a design space that isn't necessarily designed for community engagement, you're less likely to meet with people… then you are just like scrolling your phone."
"I really then focused on how do we create little pods of space… maybe it's designed for like 4 to 6 people… almost perfect for then… two people to sit down if they don't know each other… strike up a conversation."
"For me, I love a good public library… it ends up being just like that free space… I come into contact with people… like we might be knitting at the same time… and it strikes up that conversation."
"I think that there's something that is missing with affordable housing… that's not necessarily like creating that sense of belonging… whatever that other piece of program is… is like almost what we're missing."
"I do feel like [it] only pushes us to see the broken system that we're in… I think as gen Z we're learning to break free a bit… we actually can make change… I feel like there's a bit of hope in it."
Ideal Home
Layered
Michaella's ideal home drawing presents a mid-rise neighborhood stacked with housing, cafes, workspaces, and social rooms, woven together by greenery, small gathering spots, and a network of paths that favor walking and biking over cars.
