Courtesy : www.housingfinance.com
Green affordable housing design and development
With an eye toward new technologies and advances in sustainable design, Affordable Housing Finance magazine challenged architects to use their imagination to envision what affordable housing will look like in the year 2020.
We gave architects a list of established parameters and asked them to design an affordable housing development for the site plan that meets all requirements without sacrificing a quality modern design that will withstand the test of time. The overview of the development is that a redevelopment agency has reached an agreement with the transportation authority and local church and community groups to develop the subject site into a mixed-use transit-oriented development.
Dahlin Group Architecture + Planning in Pleasanton, Calif.; JHP in Dallas; and KTGY Group, Inc., in Irvine, Calif., all accepted the challenge, created detailed design options for a development of this type, and offered their perspective on design in 2020.
The Dahlin Group wove community throughout its design, focused on contemporary architecture with clean lines and simple forms, and used housing density and mixed uses as keys to making the site even more sustainable.
JHP focused on the following key strategies in its design: context/relationship with the surrounding community and transit line/station; a sense of community and place; integration of uses and open spaces; range of housing types, users, and sizes of unit—from seniors to loft to live/work to townhomes; simple building shapes/forms limited to four stories, limited elevators, and a strategically placed garage for an affordable architectural solution; and a range of sustainable approaches.
Download the JHP submission
KTGY Group believes that the concept of fabricating a housing module off-site and delivering it to another site will become the standard for affordable housing in the future. KTGY’s design concept looks at modular housing as a way to create efficient living spaces for singles, couples, families, and seniors that is also cost-effective and green.
