Archinect - News

California begins offering $13,000 for single-family seismic retrofits

2024-10-22T17:22:00-04:00

The State of California has announced a new wave of grants through its Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) program that will offer homeowners small $13,000 grants to be used in seismic retrofits.

The grants apply to qualified homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles and could be a potential windfall for architects with expertise in such projects. Only one- and two-story homes with dwelling space above a garage are eligible, according to MSN. Seismic events in L.A. County in 2024 recently surpassed numbers that haven't been seen in decades.

L.A moves new rezoning plan forward, critics say it will codify exclusion

2024-09-28T10:07:00-04:00

Will L.A. continue to preserve communities dominated by single-family homes? Or will the city make a historic shift to allow for more affordable housing in areas that have long excluded it?

City Planning officials voted on Thursday to approve the plan, which the LA Times pointed out is limited to just 28% of the city and areas that are heavily zoned for commercial and/or multifamily construction.

The publication had to use a F.O.I.L. Act petition to obtain a copy of the city-funded Architectural Resources Group/USC-UCLA report on outdated single-family zoning policies, which reads: "Detached single-family residences cover a disproportionate amount of the land zoned residential. This has resulted in an unaffordable housing market due, in part, to a pervasive lack of supply and the fact that single-family homes are more expensive than multi-family residences."

City Council has until February to approve a final rezoning plan in line with the state's original 2022 mandate.

Data from U.S. Commerce Department shows surprising increase in single-family starts for February

2023-03-17T13:47:00-04:00

New data from the U.S. Commerce Department indicates a rebound in the single-family housing starts for February in what could be a sliver of hope for the market still reeling from historically high-interest rates.

According to Reuters, the data shows a positive (7.6%) increase in single-family starts following eleven straight months of declines.

The increases were led by a 1.1% rise in starts from January to February, with upticks recorded in both the Northeast and West to offset declines recorded in the South and Midwest.

Overall, however, starts on single-family homes were down 31.6% when compared on a year-to-year basis. Multi-family housing starts also rose 9.8% to a rate of 1.45 million nationwide.

The data bucks the forecast provided in the recent Q4 AIA Home Design Trends Survey, which predicted a slowdown for the year despite an increase in residential billings.

The trends may not stick, however, a...

McMansions are making LA’s housing crisis a lot worse

2022-12-19T12:05:00-05:00

There is another cause of overcrowding and homelessness. It is mansionization, the demolition of older, smaller, less expensive houses by real estate speculators who quickly replace them with spec McMansions: boxy, shoddily built houses that max out the permitted building envelope.

The disincentive to build multifamily and affordable housing is made worse by the popularity of these easily repeatable home designs, which also cost more to construct while taking up more space and using more water and electricity. Certain communities around L.A. County have developed effective anti-McMansion ordinances that work by limiting the size of structures, although loopholes abound.

A possible solution can be taken from LA's 35 existing community plans, which contain some version of language to “protect existing stable single-family and low-density residential neighborhoods from encroachment by higher density residential uses and other uses that are incompatible as to scale, character, or would otherwise diminish quality of life.”

TBA's cozy Montreal home offers a private space for an art-collecting family

2022-02-07T14:55:00-05:00

Montreal’s Thomas Balaban Architecte (TBA) has returned to a core area of its practice with a new private residence for an art-collecting Quebecois family called the Berri House.

Challenged to “squeeze as much home as possible” out of a 112-year-old 130-square-meter (1,400-square-foot) carriage house located in the city’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood, the small multidisciplinary studio responded with a well-anchored design that effectively balances limited space with the mandated local architectural character.

Photo: Adrien Williams

The solution involved a back-to-basics reset that left only the outline of the existing structure intact. TBA thus created a compact structure connected from top to bottom by a transparent sculptural wireframe staircase meant to allow maximal space and increase circulation at the ground level. A floating extension occupies the second floor, with a third and final story containing everything from a kitchen to coffee station and o...

Builder confidence higher than expected with surging demand, despite supply chain disruptions, labor shortage, and lack of space

2021-11-16T19:58:00-05:00

Higher prices and longer wait times do not appear to be turning buyers away from the nation’s homebuilders. With demand still surging, homebuilder confidence in the market for single-family homes rose more than expected in November, to the highest level since last May

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder sentiment in the market for newly-built single-family homes moved three points higher to 83 in November. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders view conditions as good than poor. Lack of resale inventories combined with strong consumer demand has been attributed to the boost in confidence, despite ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.

NAHB Chief Economist Robert Diaz said that the construction industry currently has more than 330,000 open positions. Additionally, there is a lack of space, in which lot availability is at “multi-decade lows”. Diaz is calling on policymakers to focus on resolving these issues in order to meet the strong demand.

BIG and ICON team up once again on a 3D printed hundred-home design for Texas’ rapidly changing state capital

2021-10-27T12:10:00-04:00

As part of the firm’s evolving partnership with ICON, BIG has once again teamed up with the Texas-based manufacturer to design a 100-home neighborhood in the tech company’s adopted hometown of Austin.

Proffered as a potential solution to the dearth of housing units in the U.S. market, the homes will be produced via ICON’s Vulcan 3D printer technology and touted as providing more longevity than traditional concrete masonry housing.

The plan in many ways resembles the classic American subdivisons that cropped up after World War II. America is facing an unprecedented housing affordability crisis that has disproportionately affected one’s ability to buy a home across multiple demographic levels. BIG announced a new affordable housing initiative called NABR over the summer that promises to address some of the same issues. 2020 saw the first year in which the primary means of homeownership in the U.S. went from income to inheritance.

Image courtesy ICON

“The things we use everyday, essenti...

Atelier Cory Henry and Constance Vale Studio joins Höweler + Yoon, Tatiana Bilbao, and four others in 'On Olive' housing redevelopment in St. Louis

2021-05-14T13:13:00-04:00

A redevelopment project led by Owen Development in St. Louis' Grand Center Arts District invites a group of groundbreaking architects to design homes for the St. Louis community. The "On Olive" redevelopment will be transformed by LA's Michael Maltzan Studio, New York City-based MOS Studio, Boston-based Höweler + Yoon, Mexico City-based Productora Studio, Guadalajara-based Macias Peredo, St. Louis-based Mitchell-Wall, and Tatiana Bilbao of Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO.

According to the On Olive site, Owen Development brought together local and internationally recognized architects to "design homes for single-family housing within a three-and-one-half acre urban landscape. The seventeen homes are thoughtfully placed throughout the development, combined with a fascinating mix of amenities and sculptural attractions." Joining the list of powerhouse architects who will design homes on the north side of Olive Street is Cory Henry of Atelier Cory Henry and Constance Vale of Constance Vale Studi...

Why is America obsessed with huge homes?

2019-09-17T16:00:00-04:00

It's no secret that America has an unhealthy obsession with size, whether it be food portions or cars, and houses are no different.

The long-running trend runs deeper than the McMansion typology many Americans are familiar, according to Professor Sonia A. Hirt. In a recent study, Hirt uncovered data regarding average housing sizes that helps breakdown American homes and its obsession with size. A professor of landscape architecture and planning at the University of Georgia, Hirt explains America's "average" housing size isn't merely tied to the larger than average lot size prevalent in the United States.

In her research, Hirt gathered data from other countries like Australia, Demark, Canada, and New Zealand to compare with home sizes in America. She shares with Joe Pinsker of The Atlantic, "Even in the absence of a uniform, universal system of measurement, America is in the top tier, globally, when it comes to the size of its citizens' living spaces. The country attained this statu...

Oregon legalizes "missing middle" housing

2019-07-01T13:50:00-04:00

Oregon legislators took a historic leap toward greener, fairer, less expensive cities Sunday by passing the first law of its kind in the United States or Canada: A state-level legalization of so-called “missing middle” housing.

In a rare show of bipartisan cooperation, both of Oregon's legislative houses have voted to eliminate single-family zoning across the sate, legalizing so-called "missing middle" housing, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and row houses.

If signed into law next month by Oregon governor Kate Brown, the bill will allow up to two housing units on all residential lots located within cities that have at least 10,000 residents. For cities of 25,000 residents and up, the bill allows up to four units per lot, including row houses and cottage clusters.

Missing middle housing was largely common in American cities prior to the invention of zoning codes in the early 20th century. In the century since, a pervasive focus on single-family residential areas, coupled with the long-term effects of racial segregation and redlining, has limited housing options for Americans while also eroding a key economic stepping stone for immigrants, first-time homeowners, retirees, and other groups. As a...

Seattle is upzoning to address its housing crisis

2019-05-21T12:52:00-04:00

Seattle’s upzoning plan is set to take place throughout the city, but only 6 percent of single-family neighborhoods will be affected. These neighborhoods will be rezoned to allow for smaller, denser housing, while encouraging developers to keep existing structures and turn them into multifamily housing — like duplexes — in order to preserve a neighborhood’s aesthetic.

Since 2010 Seattle's population has seen a hike of 16%, so have the rents and the property prices. And while real estate in the city is booming, little of the development is targeted towards the growing demand for affordable housing.

Today 75% of Seattle's residential land is zoned for single-family use, prohibiting the development of much needed higher density housing like apartment complexes throughout most of the city. This March, to address the affordable housing scarcity, Mayor Jenny Durkan signed a Mandatory Housing Affordability policy, which would change the zoning of 27 neighborhoods from single-family to multifamily. This "upzoning" is projected to generate 6,000 new homes over the next decade.

In its search for more progressive zoning, the Seattle City Council is also considering laws that'd allow construction of ADUs.

Duality + tension = elegance in the Ivanhoe House

2017-05-11T18:03:00-04:00

How does one maintain excitement while embodying elegance? The artful tension of the Ivanhoe House, as designed by Billy Kavellaris of the Australian firm KUD, is an excellent example. Located in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe, the single-story 370 square meter house initially engages visitors with its unusual aesthetics and then creates settings that are elegant without ever becoming staid. "The house is a clever orchestration of balancing tension that has created wondrous moments throughout. Ivanhoe house can be read as a conversation of dualities, of heavy and lightness, public and private and of light and darkness," as the architect explains in his project description.

This conversation starts with the imposing rectilinear entryway, which combines weighty solidity with the allure of a luxurious glassed-in portico. During the day, the entryway resembles a black void, but at night with the lights on, it becomes a vividly lit domestic portal. The mass of the entryway is echoed by a...

The experimental nature of Murray Music House, a single family home designed by Carazo Arquitectura

2017-05-11T14:03:00-04:00

Blending elements of brutalism and pronounced geometric framing, the Murray Music House designed by Carazo Arquitectura is technically a single family home, designed for two parents and three children. The fundamental concept underlying its design is "Living Through the Experimentation," which helps to explain the use of changeable elements like ceiling-suspended fabric chairs and mesh netting in the hallways. By placing malleable objects into the solid frame of the home, the architects hope to constantly engage the occupants in creating new uses for spaces such as the bedroom, kitchen, and the hallway. "Experiencing a home like Murray Music includes exploration, giving another meaning and other use to spaces that normally have specific functions," as the architects explain. But these elements are not the only method of inspiring experimentation.

The rather severe geometry, which includes a black rectilinear frame hovering over the kitchen and a vertical slanted skylight with unabas...

Breaking the (single-family) mold to design around real American families

2016-09-19T14:11:00-04:00

Home design is among the many subtle and not so subtle indicators of cultural norms that tell us what the ideal family should look like. But more families — through choice and circumstance — are creating families in ways that don’t match up with the nuclear family ideal. In post-World War II America, marriage rates have decreased and more children are born to unmarried parents. Today there is no one family form in which the majority of kids grow up.

If you could throw out all the conventions and constructs and limitations of our current understanding of family, what would you create for yourself? And what’s stopping you?

For more on the politics of home design, check out these links: