vali homes infill prototype house 1.0 architect: Colab Studio by: James Trahan AIA
Building a new model for production homes in Metropolitan Phoenix requires a paradigm shift. During the housing boom, homebuilders were building thousands of homes a month, extending the suburban sprawl that has replaced acres of Sonoran Desert. One homebuilder, however, has taken on the task of shifting expectations for the design and construction of the standard production home. Austin Trautman, the founder of Vali Homes uses community, architecture and sustainability as his guiding principles. Seeking to “fill in the gaps” of central Phoenix, Vali has focused on small infill lots to create a new model. Vali Homes partnered with Colab Studio and the Design Build Firm of 180 degrees for architecture and construction. The team had three goals for the first prototype: • Create a prototype house inspired by the “case-study” homes of the 1960’s, designed for our time and place, and with the greatest amount of sustainability possible. • Create a low-to-mid cost home with high design, quality, and sustainability. • Create a design that may be replicated for any typical lot within the City of Phoenix. The team processed designs and cost models for six versions before the final prototype was agreed upon. Each design was tested, energy-modeled, and priced to find an optimal balance between design, performance, and cost. This final two-bedroom home, designed to fit on any typical lot in downtown, presents a new model for production homes with a holistic approach to sustainability and construction techniques, combined with quality architecture, leading to a truly different product.
47 36 merit award