It Still Takes a Village: Reimagining Home for a Generation in Crisis

“What if the truest architecture of home is one that invites us to choose each other?”

As a young Black woman, a designer, and a student of architecture, I’ve spent the last year of my Masters Degree program deeply immersed in a question that has haunted not only my personal life but the lives of so many people in my generation: How can architecture reconnect young adults who feel lost—surrounding them with what I call a “village”—and empower them to take control of their own environments?

My thesis project, HIVE – Home Is Village in Evolution, was born from both personal experience and urgent observation. I wanted to explore what it means to call a place “home” when so many of us are stuck in limbo—physically, emotionally, and economically. What would it mean to design not just housing, but a community that feels like family?

Home is Village in Evolution - Thesis II By Adero Brooks

A Crisis of Disconnection

The modern American home has become isolated—not only from others but often from ourselves. We’re disconnected. According to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, young adults who live alone in substandard housing report significantly higher levels of stress and depression. But here's the thing—most of us aren’t choosing to live alone. We’re pushed into it by cities that are fragmented, housing that’s unaffordable, and a culture that over-romanticizes independence. I saw this crisis firsthand. At a friend’s moving away party, I looked around and realized how essential that small Alexandria apartment had become to our friend group. It was our sanctuary. We were all still technically living with our parents, but this space was the only one that felt like home. We laughed there. We cried there. We talked about mental health openly. It was a space where we felt safe, loved, and seen. That moment sparked the foundation for HIVE—a place that recreates that feeling of found family through design.

What Makes a Village?

To me, a village is more than a cluster of houses—it’s a system of mutual care, shared responsibility, and emotional intimacy. The National Geographic definition backs this up: a village is defined by interdependence. In the past, people built villages out of necessity. Today, I believe we must build them for healing. This isn’t about erasing the single-family home or forcing everyone into constant socialization. It’s about weaving connection back into our architecture. According to researchers like Andrea Reupert, the village mentality—especially when applied to family and mental wellness—can dramatically ease the pressure on individuals. And yet, as urban design literature shows, most intergenerational planning either prioritizes children or elders. People like me—aged 20 to 39—are often overlooked.⁵

We need homes that reflect where we are in life: craving autonomy, but still needing support.

Designing for the In-Between

That’s where HIVE comes in. I designed HIVE as a transitional housing model specifically for young adults navigating life’s in- between moments—between school and career, dependence and independence, uncertainty and purpose. My design proposes a village made up of flexible, biophilic spaces that promote mental health, encourage community, and restore dignity. The project is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana—a city with significant mental health access gaps, a youthful population, and rich cultural history. The site itself is a former brownfield, which I saw as symbolic. Like many of us, the site had been overlooked, but it was still full of potential. HIVE helps it come alive again. Each layer of HIVE—The Village, The Block, and The Pods—offers a balance between communal space and individual retreat. Shared kitchens. Wellness gardens. Intentional gathering areas. This model draws from successful examples like Takoma Village Cohousing in D.C. and Episode Suyu 838 in Seoul—places where architecture encourages connection, not just efficiency.

Home as Sacred Space

For me, home isn’t just where you sleep. It’s sacred. Mary Douglas described home as a reflection of social order⁷, and Clare Cooper Marcus went further to call it a “mirror of self.”⁸ When we live in spaces that isolate us, our architecture reinforces that solitude. But when we live in spaces that honor who we are and who we’re becoming—our environments begin to heal us. Anthony Lawlor wrote in The Temple in the House that the domestic realm holds sacred potential. I believe that too. Every threshold, every shared meal, every window seat can be a ritual. That’s what I tried to design into HIVE. A place where young adults—often returning from college or stepping into adulthood—can craft a new identity in a space that supports them mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Reclaiming Craft and Culture

HIVE also reconnects us with heritage. One of my favorite features is the use of bousillage, an earthen wall technique native to Louisiana, made of clay and Spanish moss. This material has African, Indigenous, and European roots, and offers natural insulation and fire resistance. By reintroducing it, I’m not just designing sustainably—I’m honoring ancestral knowledge.

Home is Village in Evolution - Thesis II By Adero Brooks

It Still Takes a Village

This work isn’t a utopian fantasy. It’s a grounded proposal backed by real research, real design, and a real need. I’m asking us to think bigger than four walls. I’m asking us to design homes that don’t just house people—but connect them. As Diana Leafe Christian reminds us, intentional communities only thrive when there’s shared purpose. And as Dolores Hayden asks in Redesigning the American Dream—why do we assume that biological families are the only ones worth designing for?¹¹ What if the people we live with are chosen, not assigned? What if the homes we design aren’t just spaces we pass through, but places that hold us, heal us, and help us grow? Our cities are full of lonely people in expensive boxes. The crisis is real. But so is the opportunity.

The village isn’t dead—it’s just waiting to be redesigned.