This winning entry was for an international design competition challenging architects to create an innovative design for a small house that was affordable, sustainable and energy efficient. Calling for a single-family house with up to 1,400 SF, including 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, on a 50’ x 100’ site in Houston’s historic Fifth Ward, the winning design had to be adaptable to a variety of sites and have a construction budget under $99,000. The successful competitor had to use sustainable building practices and materials with a special concern for affordability, longevity, energy savings benefits, and appropriateness for the hot, humid Houston climate.

Designing with as many energy-efficient standards as possible, this submission used the fewest resources (labor and materials) to achieve the highest design impact. The house balances innovation and simple historical principles deriving its form from a hybrid of regional typologies of the Shotgun House and the Charleston Single House.

A large porch runs along the east face allowing for the break down between interior and exterior living. The form of the house maximizes cross-ventilation and utilizes high ceilings to address the heat. The building is elevated off the ground to allow natural ventilation and drainage beneath the house. Continuous clerestory windows allow ample light [and ventilation] to reduce the need for artificial lighting. Each room can be individually closed off to allow for the conditioning of that room controlled by a self-contained HVAC unit. The bedrooms all have Murphy Beds that allow for multiple use configurations. The materials of the house are all standard, durable and affordable employing typical balloon framing clad with cementitious panels. The floors are linoleum in the public spaces and wood in the bedrooms while the cabinetry and built-ins of the service wall are constructed of clear sealed birch plywood. The roof is a typical tin shed roof.

Through a series of efficient but celebratory moves House 99 maximizes the minimum.