"Plug-in +" by Cyrus Dahmubed 
  

​PLUG-IN+ is a customizable, holistic design for a resilient, replicable, and all-electric retrofit of triple deckers, Boston’s vernacular 19th- and 20th-century residential typology. The design has four main elements: outside-in envelope upgrades for thermal comfort and energy efficiency, air tightness measures and balanced energy recovery ventilation for enhanced air quality, cost-optimized rooftop solar PVs to offset electricity usage, and an exterior MEP systems shed, called the “PLUG-IN”. This small addition elevates the building's ventilation and water heating systems for flood resilience and is customizable to provide additional benefits like bike storage, outdoor seating, and composting, capitalizing on the uniquely connected public realm of the street, backyard, and side yard common to triple deckers. As PLUG-INs are incrementally incorporated into existing triple decker neighborhoods, the connections within these interstitial spaces are strengthened by a variety of uses and diverse set of values at the scale of the home and the neighborhood.