ENCROACH: An Exhibition Exploring Privacy and Exposure in High Density Housing

ENCROACH is an outdoor exhibition by the Housing Innovation Lab, which explores the tensions of privacy in high-density housing, where space is scarce, and boundaries are constantly contested. A sequence of fragmented spaces reveals disjointed views — bodies without faces, views that are never simply given but must be physically negotiated — exposing the compromises of dense living, where seeing and being seen are never fully in your control. Wrapped in a reflective skin, the structure blurs inside and outside, and the line between watching and being watched begins to dissolve. The Housing Innovation Lab (HiLab) explores the intersections of environmental, societal, and well-being concerns linked to housing and investigates synergies between building performance and quality of life across scales. The Housing Innovation Lab is directed by Lecturer and Housing Innovation Research Fellow Katharina Kral. This project is supported by the Cornell Council for the Arts and the Dean’s Professional Development Fund.