21st Century Mill Village -Updating the historic Mill Village concept to create vibrant urban life around the repurposed mills

The mill village of the 21st-century is a new take on the original concept of a mill village. The mill village was originally intended to provide a home for workers close to the factory so that they could be nearby work and devote more of their time to work, while having leisure activities in their free time. Mill villages were vibrant and self-sufficient while the factories were operational but after the production was moved overseas following cheaper labor due to globalization, most of these factories have been abandoned and quality of life in the impoverish mill villages has went away with the jobs. This thesis is proposing a solution to revitalize and update the original mill village -concept to create vibrant urban communities around the repurposed mills. The case example and commissioner of this thesis is Taylors Mill redevelopment company operating in the Taylors Mill in Taylors, South Carolina, USA. The site is located in the suburbs nearby Greenville, South Carolina, USA. The mill is in the process of bouncing back from years of dilapidation, but the mill village has not yet reciprocated in this revitalization. The modern day worker in the Taylors Mill is more of a young professional/artist/entrepreneur/satellite worker who does not generally have a big family. They're looking for a small living space where they have a connection and shared experience with the community around them. Because of this, sharing common amenities and having minimalist housing in a community/village setting will provide these people the community that they are looking for -- 21st century mill village. This thesis provides concept design for a new type of living where urban and rural lifestyles are mixed and people have a small private living space within a shared community. This new type of housing and community is achieved by using modular building system as a design tool - providing flexible and affordable housing options and different housing typologies for different families and needs