Illustrations courtesy MC2
nacular typology of the bungalow, shotgun, or dog-trot house. As fellow contributing architect Marlon Blackwell observed for his proposal (Tyler residence), “The proposition of raising a home 12 feet above the ground introduces several issues that challenge the traditional notion of the Gulf Coast streetscape and affiliated porch culture.” As Blackwell noted, the meaningful social space of the front porch given over to new building techniques could further disconnect an already vulnerable community. Grote pointed out as well the difficulties elevating a house poses for affordability and safety. Grote and Architecture for Humanity are still working through and learning about what it means to elevate an entire community. Compliance with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance companies’ requirements and innovations in materials such as new wood treatments prompted a foundational systems specific to the varying soil conditions of the Gulf Coast. Elevatin g houses to comply w ith new requirements also has strained designers who are struggling to create habitable spaces on the ground plane underneath the dwellings. While many of the model home project’s designs provide parking and a storage area, others such as MC2 are attempting to do more. Being creative within the narrow margins of FEMA compliance, MC2 devised a cladding treatment and a lighting strategy for the underside of the Nguyen house to enhance the usability of the space. The design team is furthering the connection to the ground plane and outdoors by installing an outdoor deck 20 to 30 inches above grade that surrounds an oak tree in the Nguyens’ yard. The oak tree was where the Nguyens first met the designers and staff from MC2 and Architecture for Humanity, and where the family graciously served more than 30 strangers a home-cooked meal of egg rolls and shrimp with fried rice. This memorable event influenced MC2’s final design by establishing a relationship between the kitchen and the oak tree in which the intermediate-level deck becomes an extension of the dining area and connects the family to the outdoors where they cook and garden. For the Tran family, MC2 took cues from adaptations Mr. Tran had made to his FEMA trailer—a plastic-covered porch that provided shade and helped control the temperature of the trailer. MC2 translated that make-shift amenity into a porch that wraps around the front corner
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As a result of the owner’s make-shift addition to his family’s FEMA trailer, MC2 developed a porch for the Tran residence that wraps around the front corner of the house. Construction began in the summer, with completion expected later this year.
of the new house that will encourage neighborly interaction. Also, perhaps in response to the need to address the social space of the front porch, the enfolded courtyard stair of Zamore’s early design ultimately migrated from the southern elevation to the western elevation. The new placement strengthens the connection between the stair, the front door, and porch, thereby offering a more public face to Brown Street. As intended at the outset of the project, all of the designs share the attribute of affordability. Depending on construction and square footage, the homes will cost from $110,000 to $140,000, with many costing less than $100 per square foot. The designs are now nearing completion, with move-in dates scheduled through September. Rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast – including the work undertaken by Architecture
for Humanity in East Biloxi – have been complex and not without debate over building techniques, human dignity, the aestheticizing of humanitarian work, and the need to safeguard affordability. However, detractors are often too quick to criticize and sometimes neglect to see the underlying need for solutions that respond to specific places and communities. Although Architecture for Humanity specializes in postdisaster reconstruction, its staff and volunteers did not presume to come to East Biloxi with perfect solutions. As Grote has pointed out, the model home project is a “research and development project; thus, by definition, it is a testing ground, which over time evolves and implements what it learns along the way.” K a r i
S m i t h
The writer teaches in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
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