COISOLATION
Coisolation is the idea that society is united by the common desire to reside in seclusion. One could also say that in a more abstract sense it is the spatial structure of foam itself, unified by the isolation of individual bubbles that share a series of interconnected partitions of various shapes, sizes, and edge conditions. Interconnected networks of partitions created by bubbles within foam display the concept of coisolation quite well by articulating a series of defined spaces through shared walls. It is through this party wall condition that the idea of coisolation is derived; individuals must share wall partitions in order to achieve their own individual spaces.
This concept creates a sort of symbiotic relationship between the private bubbles and the walls that separate them from other bubbles within foam networks. Peter Sloterdijk uses the term coisolation in describing the “density of conglomerates or confederations of life,” meaning that sometimes networks of coisolated walls and boundaries can vary greatly in density, but remain the same in terms of concept and purpose. There is a close link between the concept of coisolation and the Metabolist movement in architecture; cited as precidents are the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, JPN, and Habitat '67 in Montreal, CA. What is interesting about these projects is that both are types of modular construction that are arranged in a unique combinations which create a series of private living containers which share a sense of coisolation through their boarders and intersections.
"These forms nevertheless share the principle of coisolation with flexible or soft foams - that is, the division of space through shared walls." 1
"If we describe these ensembles in their episodic clusters and enduring symbioses as foam, it is also to make a statement on the relative density of coisolated conglomerates or confederations of life - a density which will always be higher than that of archipelagos, which usually offer a conclusive metaphor for insulated multiplicity, but still lower than that of the masses, where the misleading associations with the corporeal proximities of a collective entity like dough, sand, or bags of potatoes come into play." 2