YAF CONNECTION 15.01

CONNECTION THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF

THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

SHELTERING

This issue focuses on housing affordability issues across the country. We will also look at how different communities all over the world address the homelessness problem and the global housing crisis.

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VOL 15 ISSUE 01

CONNECTION

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

CONNECTION EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Editor-In-Chief Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA Senior Editor Beth Mosenthal, AIA Senior Editor Ian Merker, AIA Senior Graphic Editor Nicholas Banks, AIA Editor Phillip Anzalone, AIA Contributing Journalist Vikki Lew, AIA Contributing Journalist Gabriela Baierle-Atwood, AIA

2017 YAF ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair Evelyn Lee, AIA Vice Chair Lawrence Fabbronni, AIA Past Chair Joshua Flowers, AIA Advocacy Director Stephen Parker, AIA Communications Director Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA Community Director Shelby Morris, AIA Knowledge Director Ryan McEnroe, AIA Public Relations Director Lora Teagarden, AIA

AIA National Strategic Council Representative College of Fellows Representative AIA Staff Liaison

Jack Morgan, AIA Peter Kuttner, FAIA Milan Jordan, AIA

THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS 1735 New York Ave, NW Washington, DC 20006-5292

P 800-AIA-3837

www.aia.org

CONNECTION is a the official quarterly publication of the Young Architects Forum of the AIA. This publication is created through the volunteer efforts of dedicated Young Architect Forum members.

Copyright 2017 by The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

Views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and not those of the American Institute of Architects. Copyright © of individual articles belongs to the Author. All image permissions are obtained by or copyright of the Author.

This issue of YAF CONNECTION is sponsored through the generous support of The AIA Trust – a free risk management resource for AIA Members offering vital practice resources and benefits.

Check out www.TheAIATrust.com for all AIA Trust practice resources and benefit plans.

ON THE COVER: NEW GENESIS APARTMENT

by Jim Simmons Courtesy Skid Row Housing Trust

EDITOR’S NOTE

by Yu-Ngok Lo

STRATEGIC COUNCIL NEWS & CHAIR'S MESSAGE

by Evelyn Lee

LEADERSHIP PROFILE - IAN MERKER

an interview by Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA

2017 AIA ARCHITECTURE FIRM AWARD an interview with LMSA by Yu-Ngok Lo

THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CONUNDRUM

by Philip J. Bona

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS

by AiLien Vuong

FACING THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS

an interview with Gerhard Van Der Linde by Gabriela Baierie-Atwood

SURVIVING NYC

an interview with Jim Garrison by Ian Merker

TINY HOMES WITH BIG POTENTIAL

by Beth Mosenthal

MACRO-UNIT

by David Senden, Marissa Kasdan, Aimee Ho and Katie Bennett

IT'S THEIR HOME... NOT YOURS

by Stephen L Schoch

CREATING AFFORDABILITY

by Michael Bohn

NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY

an interview with Rasmia Kirmani-Frye and Jae Shin by Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA

MEASURE HHH

an interview with the the City of Los Angeles by Yu-Ngok Lo

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX

an interview with the National Association of Realtors

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

by Mike Alvidrez

RETURNING HOME

by Stephen Parker

URBAN HOUSING UNIT

by Addison Godine

BAUGRUPPEN

by Frances Anderton

HOUSING DESIGN IN HONG KONG

by Vikki Lew

DESIGNING IN "CITIES OF REPETITION"

by Vikki Lew and Jason Carlow

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN EUROPE

by Bard Rama and Doris Andoni

FROM MODELS TO REALITY

by Kwesi Daniels

CO-HOUSING

by Vivian Schwab

#YAFchat

by Lora Teagarden, AIA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT an interview with Kristine Hammond

05 06 08 12 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 34 40 42 44 48 50 54 58 62 66 70 72 76 80

See more in this issue's feature on permanent supportive housing starting on page 44.

SHELTERING This issue focuses on housing affordability issues across the country. We will also look at how different communities all over the world address the homelessness problem and the global housing crisis.

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v

SHELTERING CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTING EDITORS YU-NGOK LO, AIA

is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the Communication Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA and the Editor-In-Chief of the YAF official publication CONNECTION. Yu-Ngok is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award.

BETH MOSENTHAL, AIA LEED AP BD+C

has worked as an architect in Shanghai, New York, Chicago, and currently in Denver with AndersonMasonDale Architects. She serves as a Senior Editor of YAF CONNECTION, Senior Editor/ Writer for the AIA Colorado Emerging Professionals Blog, and as a columnist for the Colorado Real Estate Journal’s Building Dialogue Magazine.-

IAN MERKER, AIA

is an architect at Rainforth Grau Architects in Sacramento, CA, specializing in the education sector. He is Film Curator for AIA Central Valley and a former YAF Regional Director.

NICHOLAS BANKS, AIA

is an architect for the education studio of Corgan in Houston, TX. He is the chair of the Intern and Associate network for AIA Houston, where he encourages local associates along the path to licensure. He has been a contributor to YAF CONNECTION for over three years

PHILLIP ANZALONE, AIA

is a Partner of the Brooklyn based form Atelier Architecture 64, and a Professor of Architectural Technology at the New York City College of Technology. Phillip is serving as the New York Regional Director of the Young Architects Forum for 2015 and 2016, and has focused his endeavors on the connection between education and practice. Prior appointments include directing the building science and technology sequence at Columbia University’s GSAPP, facade consultant at R.A. Heintges and Associates and architectural designer at Greg Lynn Form.

VIKKI LEW, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP, EDAC

Vikki began her architectural career in San Francisco and started practicing internationally in 2006. Her diverse portfolio includes healthcare, university, residential, financial institute, retail, mixed-use, super-highrise, and master planning.

She is a Board member of AIA Hong Kong.

GABRIELA BAIERLE ATWOOD, AIA

is an architect with Arrowstreet in Boston, MA. She is currently serving as Architect Licensing Advisor for both the AIA Massachusetts and NCARB. She continues her involvement by being a member of the Boston Society of Architects and their Emerging Professionals Network, BosNOMA and MakeTANK committees.

FEATURE BIOS FRANCES ANDERTON

is Host of DnA: Design and Architecture, a weekly radio show broadcast on KCRW NPR station in Los Angeles. In addition to her radio work, Anderton is a curator, public speaker and writer on architecture and design. She has served as L.A. correspondent for the New York Times and for Dwell magazine.

MIKE ALVIDREZ

is a native Angelion with a Master's degree from UCLA's School of Architecture and Urban Planning. He previously worked for Community Corporation of Santa Monica and is currently the CEO of Skid Row Housing, a nonprofit that has been preserving, developing, and managing permanent supportive and affordable housing to prevent and end homelessness for more than 25 years.

EDITOR'S NOTE

SHELTERING

LOOKING FORWARD

W

elcome to the first 2017 issue of CONNECTION! It is my honor to be the editor for the next two years. I am excited to be covering the critical issues that are relevant to emerging professionals across the country and the world.

I would like to thank my predecessor, Jeff Pastva, AIA, for his efforts over the past two years. Working with him was a great pleasure.

Jeff brought a variety of topics, interviews, and discussions to CONNECTION, and broadened our readership tremendously.

My goal is not only to continue Jeff’s success by elevating the voice of young architects, but to continue raising the bar and bring CONNECTION to the next level.

This year, we are adjusting our editorial calendar and working with AIA National to get articles published on the AIA website.

Therefore, CONNECTION will be published on a quarterly basis.

We will be putting a greater focus on select topics and expanding how we report on the important issues happening in the US. Additionally, we will spend more time covering global topics.

We are delighted to have Vikki Lew, chair of AIA Hong Kong’s Young Architects Group, joining the editorial team as our first international contributing journalist. Vikki will report on important events affecting the AIA International regions and collaborate with authors working outside the US.

How can we as young architects and emerging professionals help tackle this issue? Asian cities with high-density populations such as Hong Kong have struggled with the problem for decades.

Meanwhile, European cities are devising innovative strategies for meeting the demand. We also examine how local city governments are crafting their unique approaches. There is much that US architects can learn from the global community.

I hope you find this issue both informative and inspiring. Please feel free to contact me directly should you have any questions or comments. I would also like to challenge every one of our readers to be active participants in the conversations about the topics that matter most to you and your communities. We hope that you will share your stories with CONNECTION so that we can elevate the voice of young architects together.

Last, I would like to thank my editorial team and welcome our new members. I would also like to thank our contributing authors for their stories and insights. This issue wouldn’t have been possible without them.

CONNECTION will also expand its joint initiatives to further diversify content. We have strengthened our relationship with NOMA magazine, and their editorial team will be contributing to upcoming issues. We will feature conversations with other nonprofit and professional organizations, such as Skid Row Housing Trust and the National Association of Realtor, in this “Sheltering” issue.

During the Great Recession of 2007-09, you didn’t hear much about affordable housing and housing affordability in the architectural community. But there has been renewed interest as the economy has recovered, with local, state, and national levels of AIA taking up the discussion.

For millennials ranging from recent graduates to families in their 30s, traditional home ownership has become increasingly difficult to achieve. With mobility and a lifestyle of compact living emerging as the new norm, is the American dream still relevant? Our first issue of the year grapples with this question on several fronts and with impressions from a variety of perspectives and demographics.

Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the Communication Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA and the EditorIn-Chief of the YAF official publication CONNECTION. Yu-Ngok is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award.

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STRATEGIC COUNCIL

STRATEGIC COUNCIL NEWS

A

s your Strategic Councilor embarks upon the new year, it is our priority to establish more meaningful connections between the work of the membership at large, AIA Institute bodies, and AIA leadership. Now is the opportune time to consult with membership as the 2017 Strategic Council affirms its planning cycles and work objectives for the year.

Connectivity to members, regions, and the larger AIA Institute is paramount to the charge of the Strategic Council in surveying the profession to identify opportunities, engaging in AIA strategic planning, and informing on the goals and objectives of the Institute.

1.

Better understanding the career decisions of recent architecture graduates.

5.

How can we educate the public about the importance of design to society?

2.

Providing additional resources for advancing resiliency as an issue of public health, safety, and welfare.

6.

What can we do to bolster the AIA’s reputation for relevance and value to members?

3.

Raising the engagement and visibility of architects in service to society through various design assistance programs.

7.

How do architects and the AIA become leaders in sustainability?

8.

What must we do to build a pool of future leaders of the Institute and the profession?

9.

How can we increase our agility as an organization?

Membership engagement took place at Grassroots and is planned for the Conference on Architecture. The Strategic Council wants to meet and collaborate with membership on pertinent topics and events of 2017. This opportunity to integrate member perspectives is important in shaping the context within which we operate. We value your experience and feedback and hope you will participate in these collaborative efforts.

In addition, all members are encouraged to visit www.aia.org/leadership for more information related to the work and makeup of the Strategic Council. This page houses important documents like the AIA 2016 Strategic Plan and 2016 Journal of Work, both of which provide impetus for the work of the Strategic Council. We also encourage you to contact a strategic councilor within your region or email the Strategic Council directly at strategiccouncil@aia.org.

The goal of the Strategic Council is to advance the profession by informing the board of directors and other Institute bodies of important professional issues and opportunities. To this end, the Strategic Council published the 2016 Journal of Work, which was sent to the board of directors this past January. In it, the Strategic Council proposed consideration of the following issues:

4.

Fostering local "think tank" and advisory groups for policymakers, involving AIA components and members.

5.

Developing an index of architectural quality, taking into account building performance and resource conservation.

6.

Promulgating best practices and outlines of exemplary community engagement programs by architecture centers.

7.

Supporting architects as candidates for elected office.

Subsequent correspondence from President Vonier indicated that the recommendations listed above served to inform board discussions and will inform the program, planning, and budgeting processes this year. To further advance dialogue between the Strategic Council and board, President Vonier relayed pertinent topics and inquiries discussed at the January 2017 board of directors retreat for possible consideration in the Strategic Council's work as follows: 1.

How can the Institute optimize the contributions of its components in pursuing education, information, and advocacy objectives?

2.

How can the AIA help architects to elevate and innovate business models that are relevant to emerging market conditions?

3.

What can we do to support the entire lifecycle of an architect?

4.

How can the AIA help architects to apply technology, big data, and the Internet of everything to advance business and professional aims?

Jason C. Winters, AIA, LEED BD + C

Jason is a founding principal of the architectural design firm Kezlo Group. His professional work has been primarily focused on design in the specialty of healthcare architecture. He was the president of AIA Maryland in 2014, and is currently serving as the Mid-Atlantic Region representative to the AIA National Strategic Council.

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

10. What actions can we take to reinforce member engagement?

The Strategic Council is poised to make great strides in its body of work in 2017. At the Strategic Council Assembly held just prior to Grassroots, out highly motivated group of Councilors who are eager to kick off the year with great dialog and brainstorming about the possibilities for 2017. Our approach this year integrates an innovative work stream model that considers the content aforementioned while offering the ability to address new topics that could emerge at any point in the process. This is a structured framework with an open system of design that allows the Strategic Council to continue its previous efforts and simultaneously advance new work throughout the course of the year.

Our intent is to share work in progress at key points this year with a wide segment of the membership, components, and Institute bodies. As the Strategic Council informs and connects, it concurrently seeks to consult and understand the pressing issues and opportunities facing the profession. We offer this communication as an invitation to you to engage and contribute to the efforts of the Strategic Council this year.

On behalf of the 2017 Strategic Council, Jason Winters, AIA 2017 Strategic Council Moderator

Jack Morgan, AIA, LEED AP

Jack is the Director of Architecture and an Associate for FSB in Oklahoma City, OK. He served on the board of directors of his local chapter, AIA Central Oklahoma Chapter (AIACOC) and was the chapter president in 2014. He is currently serving on the state chapter’s board of directors, AIA Oklahoma as the treasurer. Jack is also the YAF representative to the AIA National Strategic Council.

CHAIR'S NOTE

SHELTERING

SHELTER

A TOPIC EVERYONE SHOULD GET BEHIND

Y

ou will never find a single family home or multi-family home in my portfolio, but as an United States citizen, an architect, and the corporate managing director of workplace strategy and analytics at an international corporate real estate brokerage, you can bet that I always have my eye on the political and economic conditions affecting the housing in my local city and state. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, the issue of shelter and the necessity to provide basic housing needs is hard to avoid. No less than two blocks from my home in Oakland is one of many growing homeless communities that has set-up camp under a freeway. As their community has evolved over time, they have developed ways to make their space safer, created and hung their own version of public art, and designated space to park their own communal version of a car share. My neighborhood aside, the need for affordable housing in the Bay Area now includes a growing proportion of the middle class, who are often priced out of homeownership. It is also important to keep an eye on growing microtrends indicating future generations may not be interested in the ownership model whatsoever. Whether or not your firm is focused on the residential market, how the local real estate market is performing is a trend that all architects should follow. After all, the roots of the 2008 financial crisis were originally triggered by falling home prices.

I began to look for opportunities outside of traditional practice as early as 2006. I knew I was never going to be a designer (there are individuals who are much better at design than I am), but I was never going to wear the hat of a technical architect, and project management along with construction administration was never all that inspiring to me. More than a decade later, having obtained master's degrees in business administration and public administration and worked for a non-profit as well as a strategy group in a medium-sized design firm, I find myself more connected to the built environment than ever, partly because I track all the macro trends affecting our profession as architects.

bubble that architects tend to put themselves in when it comes to practice and our award ceremonies, where we are published, and where and how we choose to participate within the communities where we live. Why do we not combine the same way of thinking in our businesses, taking into consideration all the other factors that inform the current and future state of our own practices? The basic demand for shelter and the implications it forecasts can anticipate risk and demand relative to capital spending, determine future city growth (or shrinkage), and at a very minimum sets the living wage that architecture firms need to ensure that they pay their staff so they can afford to live in the city where they work.

Shelter and therefore housing is a topic that all of us should follow to varying degrees, as the political decisions and economic outcomes can have significant impacts on traditional practice, especially over time. My hope is that as you skim through the first issue of CONNECTION, each of you connects with at least one article. As the future voice of the profession, the Young Architects Forum has always been focused on creating sustainable practice models so that we can continue to thrive in the profession and industry we all love to be a part of. In 2017, the YAF is specifically focusing on the evolving notion of practice and how now, more than ever, we need to push the notion of traditional practice to continue to remain relevant. How do we increase the value that architects provide and create opportunities to continually grow our scope of services even in times when no one else is building?

We welcome new ideas and insights from AIA members and nonmembers alike, both young and old. Please feel free to reach out to me and share your thoughts on the future of practice.

We are taught from the beginning to be design thinkers, looking at all the various aspects that drive design decisions as well as how to coordinate the growing number of trades that it takes to implement against those designs. I am always puzzled, then, by the insular

Evelyn M. Lee, AIA

Evelyn leads Workplace Strategy for Savills Studley's West Coast offices. She combines her business and architecture background to seamlessly integrate workplace experience with organizational culture and operational strategy. She is the 2017 Chair of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA.

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LEADERSHIP PROFILE

YAF REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT Ian Merker, AIA LEED AP BD+C is an architect at Rainforth Grau Architects in Sacramento, CA, specializing in the education sector. He is film curator for AIA Central Valley, serves on the NCARB Experience Advisory Committee, is part of the AIA Center for Civic Leadership Citizen Architect group, and is the Young Architect Regional Director for Northern California.

Ian, it is your second time running for the YARD position. What made you want to run again?

As our economic status in architecture improves, volunteerism tends to get pushed aside as we get back to work. We also have the added challenge as emerging professionals of experiencing multiple life events and milestones in a short period. Let’s face it: life gets in the way! From my previous term, I’ve seen the value of this position and its potential to make a positive change to the profession. We have a great group of AIA member volunteers and staff in California and at National, and I enjoy working with them. It was hard to stay away.

What are you hoping to achieve in your second term?

As young architects, we’re the source of creativity in design with our willingness to innovate. I want our profession to embrace innovation, embrace the unique contributions of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, and be equitable in the way we work. One way we can do that is to foster lifelong learning through a pay-it-forward style of mentorship. I’m excited to take those efforts further. That may take the form of sharing mentorship best practices or even creating AIA member incentives to actively participate in mentoring.

Tell us a bit about your role as the official “film curator” of the AIA Central Valley chapter?

My first foray into AIA leadership was as the Associate Director for AIACV. At the time, the most involvement from emerging professionals was their participation in the exam prep workshops we organized. One of the ways I found successful in including all career stages in networking and design discourse was to show a design documentary and follow it with a discussion. It didn’t hurt to have beer and snacks as well. The film nights evolved into a great public outreach program. I’ve collaborated with other local like-minded organizations and filled art house cinemas, museum auditoriums, and university lecture halls with diverse groups of moviegoers. We have great conversations and a lot of fun. When my term was up as Associate Director, the board dubbed me the chapter’s “film curator” and gave me a working budget. I’ve been showing films ever since.

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

Besides being a Senior Editor for YAF CONNECTION, you’re also working on a special project with the Center for Civic Leadership.

Tell us a bit about your work with CCL. Last year, I joined the Citizen Architect working group of the CCL. It’s an amazing group of architects who have been involved in leadership roles within their communities in various aspects, such as serving on a city planning commission or city council. I spent 8 years on a local preservation board before joining this group. We see the value of having the unique critical thinking and creative skills of architects in these political positions. Last year, I helped revamp the Citizen Architect web page, making it easier to find best practices and case studies for local components to nurture and support activism, and getting the site ready to become a networking database to connect citizen architects across the country. This year, we’ll be updating the Creating a Citizen Architect Committee handbook, which serves as a consolidated AIA component resource.

Tell us about the Seven Shelves Society.

A great mentor and a sage of our local chapter, Richard Conrad, FAIA, was eager to support emerging professionals. He noticed that a couple of us young architects were getting very active developing a legacy of excellent work, and invited us to lunch.

That’s when he revealed his secret to becoming elevated to fellowship. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to share it with you, but it has something to do with accumulating publications, awards, recognitions, resolutions, etcetera. We review our portfolios, work on CVs, and discuss our current struggles and aspirations. Our little lunch bunch has grown into a flock. Anyone at any stage of his or her career is welcome to join. It’s never too early to start preparing for fellowship. ■

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE CALL

YAF RESOURCE GUIDE AIA’s Young Architects Forum YAF's official website YAF KnowledgeNet A knowledge resource for awards, announcements, podcasts, blogs, YAF Connection, and other valuable YAF legacy content ... this resource has it all!

AIA Trust A free-risk management resource for AIA members.

We are looking for team members to join the editorial committee.

While we welcome skill sets of all stripes, our current need is for a graphic designer. The position description is as follows: Graphic Designer/Editor: Provide featured layouts (up to six per issue) based on written and graphic content from national contributors. Assist Editor-In-Chief/Creative Director and Senior Editors with magazine graphic direction. Must be able to work in a remote setting with the ability to balance publication deadlines with employment. Ability to attend a bi-monthly kick-off conference call with the potential for intermediate update calls.

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Google products required. Applicants’ access to Adobe CC is preferred, but we can work around older versions.

Please provide a sample page or link of prior work.

This position has immediate availability with a commitment of one year and the four issues of YAF CONNECTION in 2017. Position will be reevaluated at year's end based on need and performance.

If interested, please contact the YAF Communications Director (YAF CONNECTION Editor-in-Chief/Creative Director), Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA at yungoklo@hotmail.com for more information.

AIA College of Fellows Check out the College of Fellows's reciprocal newsletter to find out more about what's going on.

Know Someone Who’s Not Getting YAF Connection?

Don’t let them be out of the loop any longer. It’s easy for AIA members to sign up. Update your AIA member profile and add the Young Architects Forum under “Your Knowledge Communities.”

• Sign in to your AIA account • Click on the blue “Add a Knowledge Community” button • Select Young Architects Forum from the drop down and SAVE! Call for News, Reviews, Events Do you have newsworthy content that you’d like to share with our readers? Contact the editor, Yu-Ngok Lo, on Twitter @yungoklo.

Call for CONNECTION Articles, Projects, Photography Would you like to submit content for inclusion in an upcoming issue? Contact the editor, Yu-Ngok Lo, at yungoklo@hotmail.com

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CONVENTION

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

WE 101 8:00am – 12:00pm Construction Administration Boot Camp for Small Projects and Emerging Firms WE 301

1:00 -5:00pm

MBA: Mastering the Business of Architecture for Emerging Professionals

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YAF Contributions to the Young Professional Collections Be sure to check out our sessions...

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Friday, April 28, 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

TH 103 7:00 – 8:00am

FR 207 2:00 -3:00pm

SA 211 2:30 – 3:30pm

Compelling Storytelling: Successfully Presenting Small Firm Projects to the Public TH 204 2:00 – 3:30pm

Gimme Shelter!

Millions in Need: Design as the Solution TH 214 2:00 – 3:30pm

2+2 Achieving Outstanding Design: College of Fellows and Young Architects TH 316 4:00 – 5:30pm

Get Ready to Rock!

Essential Presentation Skills for all Architects FR 416 5:00 – 6:00pm

International Practice: A Primer for Emerging Professionals

Open Source Architecture SA 215 2:30 – 3:30pm

2016 AIA Innovation Awards SA 305 4:00 – 5:00pm

Brewing ARE Buzz: How to Boost Licensure SA 316 4:00 – 5:00pm

Understanding the Impact of the Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure

The Business Case for Resilience EV 213 8:00 – 11:00pm

Emerging Professionals Party

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FEATURE

2017 AIA ARCHITECTURE FIRM AWARD

AN INTERVIEW WITH LEDDY MAYTUM STACY ARCHITECTS (LMSA)

BY YU-NGOK LO

Over the course of three decades, San Francisco-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA) has developed an impressive portfolio of highly influential work that advances issues of social consciousness and environmental responsibility. A small, nimble firm comprising 25 dedicated designers who believe deeply in the transformative power of architecture, the firm’s work demonstrates design with purpose as it develops model solutions to meet crucial challenges. Recent recipient of the 2017 AIA Architect Firm Award, LMSA clearly demonstrates that architects, both leaders and young designers, can help their communities adapt to a complex and rapidly changing world.

The CONNECTION reached out to LMSA and spoke with the emerging professionals of the firm on some of the affordable housing projects.

Dominique Elie

has been with LMSA since 2013. She received her master of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor of arts, history, and literature at Harvard University.

Edward Kopelson, AIA, LEED AP

is an associate at LMSA and has been with the firm since 2014. A LEED accredited professional, he received his master of architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and his bachelor of arts, visual arts, from the University of California, San Diego.

Gwen Fuetes, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C

has been with LMSA since 2015. She is very active in the sustainable design community. She received her master of architecture and building science from the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor of arts, architecture studies and music, from Brown University.

Yu-Ngok Lo (YL): One of your firm’s practice areas is affordable housing and housing for the homeless. Can you give me an overview of what clients and partners you work with to create affordable and homeless housing, and why this work is important?

Edward Kopelson (EK): We believe our work on affordable housing and housing for the formerly homeless is important because of the high cost of local housing and because affordable housing is vital to a diverse city. We aim to help provide permanent housing for our community members that are most in need. Our clients for these projects are typically local nonprofit developers.

While the government hasn’t produced public housing for the last 20-30 years, we are fortunate that the Bay Area has a strong group of developers that provide much-needed affordable housing. Our clients include Mercy Housing, Bridge Housing, Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, MidPen Housing, and Community Housing Partnership. Financing for these projects is often very complicated, and our clients pursue a range of funding sources, including federal and state funds and local contributions. Many of our projects are joint developments between a developer and a partner that provides on-site supportive services to tenants. In this sense, our client for any specific project is often a group of organizations and stakeholders working toward a common goal.

YL: As an example, can you tell us about the Plaza project in San Francisco and the outcomes once the project was built?

EK: In many ways, Plaza Apartments is a good example of what we believe affordable housing can do. It was our office’s first affordable housing project and the first LEED project the city of San Francisco produced. The project replaced a single-room occupancy (SRO) building that was in pretty bad shape with an affordable but safer and more livable housing for some of the city’s neediest and lowest income residents. Over time, the new mixed-use development has been a leader in the revitalization of the neighborhood. The Plaza Apartments was completed before many of us were part of the office, myself included, but it is the type of project that attracted many of us to LMSA: thoughtful contemporary design that provides dignified housing and enhances the neighborhood.

YL: San Francisco is one of the least affordable cities in the country.

What are some of the strategies your firm has used to design affordable housing in San Francisco?

EK: We begin with an understanding that all people deserve dignity and community in their housing. We believe well-executed affordable housing projects help create communities within and become integral to their larger neighborhoods. To do so, we focus on how our affordable housing projects fit within the fabric of the city and how the architecture can best support the community. We often use outdoor spaces, shared spaces, and connections between the two to maximize the usefulness of each. We have received

OPPOSITE: RENE CAZENAVE APARTMENT Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA 12

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SHELTERING

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FEATURE

feedback that, by providing beautiful buildings with nicer materials, we help our projects become assets to their neighborhood.

At the same time, we are mindful of our clients' budgets and know that affordable housing projects need to achieve a lot with limited funds. We always aim to provide projects that do the most with the least by searching for solutions that solve multiple problems at once. In addition, because our clients hold their buildings for decades, we work to provide long-term quality, durability, functional longevity, and energy efficiency.

YL: Sustainable architecture is also a big part of your firm’s work; your firm started working on green projects in the mid-90s, before it became a norm in the profession. As a pioneer in sustainable design, what has changed in the profession over the past few decades?

Gwen Fuertes (GF): These days, we find that the word “sustainability” has become mainstream, and now other terms, like “high-performance,” “resilience,” and “ecological design,” are entering the vocabulary. Even “net zero energy” is a goal that is

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now considered in our designs, and some completed projects are getting very close to achieving it, thanks to the progressive policies here in California and programs such as the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Aspects of health and well-being are also now becoming key players in terms of broadening the meaning of sustainable design, resulting in an increased focus on the users as well as the economic bottom line – which is in line with the goals of our projects and clients.

Additionally, the market has evolved to let us take advantage of some of the technological advancements in efficient envelope assemblies and renewable energy that may have been out of reach a decade or two ago. We are lucky to have a progressive energy code and work in districts that incentivize this type of design thinking; moreover, we tend to partner with clients that share these goals.

These days, we are interested in advancing sustainability in our practice, in particular how we can empower young architects to use tools to unlock additional potential for high-performance design in our work. We are also looking forward for to the materials

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we find that the word “sustainability” has become mainstream, and now other terms, like “high-performance,” “resilience”, and “ecological design”, are entering the vocabulary. transparency movement to catch up to our typical affordable housing building material palette as it is starting to do, and we are eager to participate in and advocate for this undertaking.

YL: How is sustainability incorporated into your affordable housing projects?

GF: From the outset, sustainable design is often required or highly incentivized for affordable housing in our community. Thanks to a number of city and state incentives for pursuing sustainability labels or certification, such as expedited permitting and renewable energy access programs, our clients and builders see the benefit of sustainable design in recognizable terms (time and budget); exceeding energy code minimums is typically not considered as a pinch point – it is a universal benefit. Along with this, we’ve also noticed that non-profit housing developers tend to advocate for the perceived premium of sustainability practices because they have a unique perspective as both developers and long-term owners/ operators of these properties.

As architects, our sustainability reach grows incrementally as the project design develops, and we identify new opportunities and assist in researching the first- and operational cost impacts as these options arise. We are also attuned to the unique needs of the residents of our affordable housing projects – whether we design for low-income families, the formerly homeless, adults with autism, or veterans, our design approach considers the health and wellbeing of these different groups and how those needs may intersect or diverge – and we consider health as part of the sustainability agenda. Additionally, there is interest in a balance of sustainability and durability – how can the buildings and systems be designed for optimal long-term low-energy maintenance? How can materials choices and mechanical systems be designed to be flexible, upgradable, and as durable as possible, while still contributing to a timeless design for residents, counselors, and neighbors in the community? This is a challenge that guides our design approach every day.

PREVIOUS PAGE: RENE CAZENAVE APARTMENTS - Tim Griffith Courtesy LMSA ABOVE: MERRITT CROSSING - Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA OPPOSITE: PLAZA APARTMENTS - Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA BELOW: PLAZA APARTMENTS - Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA

YL: Resiliency is a very hot topic now; how does your firm’s work address this issue?

GF: This issue is of great interest to us, given the fact that natural disasters and extreme climate events create some of our most critical challenges in California. We tend to consider resiliency on a case-by-case basis per project, and we also consider the role of the building in its community. While one building might serve as a shelter-in-place site during a serious earthquake, to be occupied immediately afterward, such as Rene Cazenave Apartments in San Francisco, another design may focus on other resiliency criteria such as installing a back-up generator for their senior residents in the event of a power outage, such as our Merritt Crossing Apartment project in Oakland. Where we can, our designs also respond to deficient infrastructure – such as designing “hinge slabs” at the thresholds between a slowly sinking sidewalk and our pile-

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supported building for low-income families and formerly homeless veterans in Mission Bay, San Francisco. The new Resiliency credits in the LEED v4 rating system are a great framework we are eager to use moving forward. Where our project constraints are not suited for a building-scale resiliency approach, we hope to design for our building to fit into a resiliency plan at the community scale.

“Resilient SF” has made some inroads in this regard.

More broadly, we think of our designs and resiliency of the residents within. We care about how our designs can entice residents to stay long term, creating strong bonds with the community, effectively increasing the vitality and endurance of the community itself.

firm has created an environment that promotes fluid communication between junior and senior staff, challenges young architects, and encourages us to seek and find answers from our colleagues. A lot of growth and learning comes from creating an environment where beginner architects have direct access to more senior architects and principals.

YL: Is there anything else you would like to add as it relates to your work on affordable housing locally as well as on the national level?

EK: We are fortunate to be part of a strong and talented community of San Francisco Bay Area architects, engineers, and developers working to provide affordable housing solutions. We are hopeful that this community will continue to be a leader and can show a model for how affordable housing can be provided nationwide. ■

Aside from thinking about how a building will age, we want the design to accommodate residents' aging over time. We are designing permanent homes for people, and consider residents’ comfort and satisfaction as a crucial partner in our building-scale resiliency strategies.

YL: Your firm is a diverse group of designers. Does your firm have programs that support emerging professionals? How does your firm develop young architects to become future firm leaders?

Dominique Elie (DE): Because of the size of our firm and our teams, roles and responsibilities can be quite fluid. The firm was built on the ethos of the architect as generalist, and this philosophy is applied across all staff levels. As young architects, we are exposed to all aspects of projects and have the opportunity to wear many hats and take ownership; it is a very self-directed environment in that way.

Principals try to maintain staff continuity as best they can throughout different project phases and have most recently encouraged junior staff to play vital roles in the construction administration process so we can see projects through completion early on in our careers.

Furthermore, many young architects have chosen to work at LMSA because we are passionate about the issues the firm is trying to address through its work. We are encouraged to pursue advocacy and leadership opportunities outside the office and are supported in these ventures.

On a more formal level, the office greatly encourages licensure and provides all the necessary support, from covering exam fees and time to providing study material. We also have a mentorship program where young architects are matched with more senior staff and are encouraged to have regular lunch meetings to discuss professional and personal goals. Most importantly, however, the

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TOP LEFT: MISSION BAY BLOCK 3 EAST - Courtesy LMSA TOP RIGHT: RENE CAZENAVE APARTMENTS - Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA BOTTOM: RENE CAZENAVE APARTMENTS - Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA

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CHAIR'S CORNER

THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CONUNDRUM

BY PHILIP J. BONA, AIA

M

illions of Americans are suffering today’s housing affordability crisis. Brewing for many years and most precariously since 2008’s recessionary period, this predicament has seriously affected many in society as they have found themselves struggling to make ends meet with 30% of their income or more going toward housing costs. Rent or mortgage, insurance, utility, and waste costs are fundamental to a family. Our expectations of fitting housing outlays into our monthly budget, having income that increases at the rate of inflation or better, and managing mobility, lifestyle, and health care costs are almost impossible in today’s big cities. These realities are exacerbated by the current housing market and not so much, “location, location, location.” While the U.S. workforce is fighting for over a $10/hour minimum wage, sectors of hot markets like the San Francisco Bay Area’s Silicon Valley report that the average high-tech worker makes $160k per year, so why can’t they find housing they can afford? Could it be because the average price of housing today within 20 miles of their job is over $1 million to buy or $4,000 monthly rent? As a result, young professionals looking for affordable workforce housing, especially in a safe and appealing neighborhood, are often out of luck, so they relocate farther away from work, which increases mobility costs, traffic congestion, and greenhouse gases; and decreases quality of life, wellness, and balance.

According to a 2016 report from the McKinsey Global Institute, California must build 3.5 million new homes by 2025 or suffer greater over-crowding and homelessness in the state. Each contributor to the housing, industry including the landowner, developer, builder, architect, engineer, regulator, lending agency, realtor, and buyer, has a stake in and responsibility for making this problem for their grandchildren; now they must solve it. The lack of available affordable housing is aggravated by many things, including historic construction, industry wastefulness, and the high cost of permits and city fees (recently reported to be 40% of the cost of a dwelling unit in some places in California). Further, home builders need to make their profit margin; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in the business. It is what the market will bear, but it just isn’t sustainable for our future generations. So what is an architect supposed to do about it?

The work ahead for architects is to design with more efficient, sustainable, and less costly materials, means, and methods. This suggests that what is needed is a new housing design methodology with 21st century building materials for structure, connectivity, and skins and, where possible, the use of prefabricated and mass-

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produced modular building components (e.g., walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, etc.); these elements would be “plug 'n’ play” to allow the greatest flexibility from user to user.

As young architects, this is your future, and today you already have the creativity, the science, and the metrics to influence a new, more cost-effective and sustainable housing industry.

The low-hanging fruit this year is the advent of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a form of infill housing that could jump-start the repurposed cargo container and the tiny house building industry to provide easy solutions for localized population and housing growth.

As a result of the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development’s 2016 passing of SB1069, AB2299, and AB2406, some impediments have been relaxed and, in some cases, incentives applied to promote the opportunity to build new (permitted) ADU’s. As such, in 2017, city planning departments around the state are proposing regulatory changes to their land development codes to help promote the construction of ADUs in targeted neighborhoods. In San Diego alone, there are upward of 30,000 single-family detached lots (5-6,000 s.f.) big enough to fit a 300-900 s.f. accessory unit on site with the existing house.

Several local architects in San Diego have been meeting with the city staff to promote specific regulatory reform that will make ADUs more easily permittable throughout the city. Consider doing this in your city.

An exciting proposition the future holds is an entrepreneurial industry that would create “makers' fabrication facilities” near major metropolitan growth areas that would embrace an approach of “mass customization,” 3D printing, and robotic technology in collaboration with the design/build community to produce a marketplace for new material science and a demand for modular, component, panelized (SIP-like), and extruded or laser-cut construction materials made of regenerative parts and recycled compounds, appropriate for the future of sustained and affordable human shelter.

AIA architects around the United States are being challenged by the market to lead efforts to propose new housing solutions that are cost effective and focused on smart growth through proven models of livable communities that are transit-oriented and walkable.

Focusing on multi-family workforce housing, infill housing, and ADU architects can design new 21st-century typologies for all strata of housing including: “Homeless Temporary, Transitional, Affordable Subsidized, College Short-term, Below Market Rate, Market Rate, Luxury, Independent Senior, and Dependent Senior.” Our vision for future growth must be conceived as off the grid in regard to

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power, water, waste and connectivity (e.g., Tesla’s solar-charged "Powerwall" for every unit). Otherwise, consider the cost of new infrastructure that would be necessary for 3.5 million additional dwelling units. With a projected infrastructure cost for 330,000 units at $16.5 trillion costs passed on to the developer/builder and to new buyers and renters, it is high motivation to embrace these energy- and water-efficient sustainable strategies.

Otherwise, cities will fail to fund these improvements which will slow down the needed growth. We can continue to design and build infrastructure as we have for the past hundred years in America or we can begin to focus on next-generation best practices to assure a sustainable and resilient future. Young architects and emerging professionals need to step up and promote these sustainable ideals to their firms, their clients, and their communities.

will target 9 transit growth areas within the city of San Diego and several other cities in the county with the goal of providing a basis of design analysis, planning and visualizations that will demonstrate how the county could absorb 330,000 additional housing units in a smart, healthy, sustainable, and resilient way. To ensure the best outcome for their future, it is incumbent upon young architects and emerging professionals to step up, volunteer, and help to shape this forward-thinking vision in their cities ■.

AIA San Diego has embarked upon a great case study opportunity in 2017, as it will host a Regional Planning and Design Charrette to address its housing crisis. The county’s regional governance agency, SANDAG, projects that the county’s population will increase by nearly one million people by 2050. Population growth

California must build 3.5 million new homes by 2025 or suffer greater overcrowding and homelessness in the state. will drive job growth and housing demand within the region. Note that only 50% of this expansion will be from immigration into California, while the other 50% will be from natural demographic growth from current inhabitants. This will require more than 330,000 housing units to be constructed in the next 33 years, which translates to 10,000 new units per year. Unfortunately, only an average of 5,000 units per year have been built over the past decade in the region.

Targeting this future, the AIA, ULI, APA, BIA, and many other vested groups will come together in March to volunteer for interdisciplinary teams made up of architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers, universities, community representatives, developers, city agencies, banks, realtors, and others to study regional and local solutions for up-zoning, cleaning brownfields, developing innovative infill sites, higher-density energy-efficient housing, ADUs, and vibrant urban main street transit villages with schools, community places, and walkable jobs. In November, the teams

Philip J. Bona, AIA

is 2017 president of the San Diego chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a practicing architect with BNIM, 2011 AIA National Architecture Firm Award.

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ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS

CREATING AFFORDABILITY THROUGH FELLOWSHIP AND INNOVATION

BY AI-LIEN VUONG

I

n the world of architecture, affordable housing is not a particularly glamorous subject, but it has gained global attention as the world continues to urbanize and cities battle a growing housing crisis.

In the last few years, the field has bestowed its highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, to architects who have dedicated their work to addressing shelter and affordable housing. In 2014, the Pritzker Prize was awarded to Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect who created innovative disaster shelters out of paper-tube structures.

Two years later, Alejandro Aravena, a Chilean architect whose firm has created more than 2,500 social housing units, was awarded for his dedication to and innovations in affordable housing. At the same time, the face of our profession has also been changing and diversifying. These changes have elicited an important increase in both social awareness and environmental stewardship. For these reasons, more emerging professionals are interested in using their architectural skills to create positive social change.

One way that young designers have been exploring public-interest design is through the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship.

The Rose Fellowship partners early-career architectural designers with local community development organizations or housing authorities to help facilitate an inclusive approach to development while promoting sustainable and affordable communities.

The fellowship is a three-year position in which the Rose Fellow becomes an integral team member of the host organization, providing capacity in the areas of community engagement, sustainability, and design excellence. Fellows also benefit from numerous professional development opportunities throughout the year and access to the fellowship’s robust alumni network. Exact roles and projects vary by fellowship and host organization, but most Rose Fellows end their fellowship with a greater understanding of and first-hand experience in buildings, site design, and neighborhood plans that improve economic, social, cultural, health, and environmental outcomes. This insight proves invaluable given how complicated

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the affordable housing world can be for those not yet indoctrinated; it also creates the opportunity for new thinkers in the space to potentially innovate-something I have been working on as a current Rose Fellow in Denver, Colorado at the Denver Housing Authority.

Housing affordability comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Sometimes it’s achieved through subsidies or incentives; in other cases, it’s the result of market forces or time. The most extensive example of the former is the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The LIHTC program, created and administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), incentivizes private owners to create and maintain affordable housing. It functions like an indirect federal subsidy, enticing private sector investors with tax credits to provide equity in affordable rental housing developments. Though the LIHTC program has had tremendous success in producing affordable units over the last several decades, it is still not enough to meet the current demand—as more than 11 million households in the U.S. still spend at least 50% of their monthly income on rent. So what are other tools we can use to meet our nation’s housing needs? What are the more creative solutions being implemented to create and preserve affordable units in the market? One way in which several cities, including Denver, are seeking to create more attainable housing units in demanding housing markets is through the use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Known by many names, including carriage house, in-law suite, alley apartment, and granny flat (among others), the ADU is “a habitable living unit added to, created within, or detached from a primary single-family dwelling and contained on one lot.” More or less, they are an accessory (secondary) dwelling unit to the main single-family house. Sometimes they are attached to the primary structure, such as a basement apartment, and sometimes they are detached, such as an apartment over a garage or a tiny home in the backyard. They are usually much smaller than the primary home, located off the alley or in the rear of the lot, and often rented to family and/or friends—all reasons that tend to make the ADU more affordable than other rental options in the same neighborhood. Moreover, ADUs are not new. They have been around for awhile but have only recently come back into popularity.

ADUs are most often used for rental income or to accommodate a growing or multi-generational family. ADUs provide a number of benefits, including a flexibility over time. Imagine the following as an example: a young couple builds a primary house with an ADU. During the first few years the ADU is used for rental income, which helps the young family with their mortgage. As the family

grows, their in-laws come to stay in the ADU and be closer to their grandkids. Upon finishing college, the ADU provides space for boomerang kids to stay while they get on their feet. As eventual empty nesters, the couple downsizes by moving into the ADU and renting out the primary residence. In old age, a caretaker resides in the ADU to provide assistance within the comfort of their own home. On a planning level, ADUs also help create hidden density in single-family neighborhoods without significantly altering the character of the area—creating more compact communities.

While this all makes a great case for the value of ADUs in general, how do they help in areas with skyrocketing rental rates and displacement through gentrification? In established neighborhoods, ADUs can provide for more modest rentals in higher-cost locations without subsidies. Similar to the appeal of micro-units (apartments <350 s.f.), ADUs provide those willing to trade off less space for greater access to more compact, walkable, urban living that they might not otherwise be able to afford. Moreover, the local benefits are two-fold: while the ADU provides a more market-affordable rental unit, the rental income generated helps the homeowners to offset their housing costs—to help with their mortgage or rising property taxes. The latter is an especially important benefit when considering the ADU as an anti-displacement tool for homeowners in hot housing markets like Denver. And while this can be a more challenging tool for low-to moderate-income homeowners versus those with greater financial means, it still provides those at a difficult junction with an option to stay in place versus having to sell their home.

So why aren’t ADUs being built everywhere? For one, they can be challenging to finance if local lenders don’t understand ADUs— either through lack of a comparable local product or education in their added value. Another reason is that many cities still have barriers toward ADUs, including codes that don’t allow for them or processes that make them too difficult to build. This may be due to both real and/or perceived issues associated with ADUs, such as parking problems, fear of density (or change), dislike of renters, or problems with illegal ADUs. However, a number of these cities have created incentives or resources to encourage the construction of ADUs. These include waiving certain development or tap fees, providing standard sets or prototypes, streamlined approval processes, or a step-by-step ADU manual, to name a few.

Denver, as one of the country’s fasting growing housing markets, is beginning to evaluate the role of ADUs in alleviating its housing crisis—with particular interest on the Rose Fellow’s part in how this tool could be modified to serve areas vulnerable to gentrification

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and displacement. For areas of the city like West Denver, where neighborhoods are dominated by single-family homes and accommodate a range of low-to moderate-income households, West Denver is a vibrant, multicultural area of the city and home

ADUs could not only tie into anti-displacement strategies but may also be a cultural fit in terms of both the area’s urban fabric and its residents. to many immigrant and refugee families. These communities often include multi-generational households and value physical proximity to their family or social ties, so ADUs could potentially meet not only the area’s housing and economic needs but speak to the cultural context of West Denver as well.

ADUs are still a fairly uncharted market in many cities, but this also means that they are under-explored as a typology—providing a significant opportunity for architects of all experience levels to innovate, design, and deliver a more unique affordable housing product than is traditionally available. The profession has spent long enough reinventing the luxury house and not enough time revolutionizing the affordable home, and I believe that the right elements are in place for this to happen—a growing desire to design for social impact, an affordable housing crisis that warrants innovation, and the need for creative, out-of-the-box thinking.■

Ai-Lien Vuong

is an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow at the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) in Denver, Colorado. Ai-Lien completed her Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BS.Arch), Master of Architecture (M.Arch), and Master of City & Regional Planning (M.CRP) from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

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FACING THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS AN INTERVIEW WITH GERHARD VAN DER LINDE.

BY GABRIELA BAIERLE-ATWOOD

Gerhard Van Der Linde, AIA is an architect with a background in the social sciences. He received a Master of Social Sciences degree in Psychology from the University of the Free State in 2005 and a Master of Architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2010. He is an Associate member of the American Psychological Association, a member of the Environmental Design Research Association, and a member of the AIA. He is interested in applied social and psychological research and its relationship to contemporary design practice.

The Boston Society of Architects/AIA is a non-profit organization and a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Founded in 1867, the BSA fosters and advocates for the professional development of its membership, along with promoting communitywide initiatives for transforming and appreciating Boston and its design culture. The BSA also hosts committees, member groups and networks that are engaged in several aspects of the profession.

The CONNECTION team interviewed Gerhard van der Linde, architect and co-chair of the BSA Committee on Homelessness, to discuss the committee’s mission, past projects, and future goals for the community it engages.

Gabriela Baierle Atwood (GBA): Could you please share with us a bit about your background. ?

Gerhard Van Der Linde (GVDL): I’m an architect with a background in the social sciences. I received a master of social sciences degree in psychology from the University of the Free State (South Africa) in 2005 and a master of architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. I’m particularly interested in the role architecture can play in human well-being and in better understanding the ways we as architects can apply our skills in non-traditional ways to improve the lives of others.

GBA: What motivated you to get involved with the Boston Society of Architects and its Committee on Homelessness?

GVDL: I worked with the late Sho-Ping Chin who introduced me to John Wilson, the architect who founded and ran the BSA Taskforce to End Homelessness for over 15 years until his retirement.

Approximately two years ago, they expressed an interest in reestablishing a committee at the BSA exclusively focused on homelessness. I volunteered to help create and steer this new initiative. Although the Taskforce to End Homelessness (TFEH) left a rich legacy of important projects, my goal was to determine what a committee focused on homelessness needed to look like in our day and age. The challenges associated with homelessness look very different today than they did 20 years ago, and we will need the new generation of architects, planners, and designers to address these challenges by employing the opportunities, partnerships and technologies we have at our disposal.

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I met Rashmi Ramaswamy at a BSA Engage event, and she joined the committee as co-chair. Her help, experience, and leadership have been vital in establishing the committee. Rashmi is a licensed architect and has been involved in several projects in Chicago for not-for-profit clients, including an affordable housing project for women, an urban farm and job-training center, a legal aid clinic, and a daycare facility. She has also been involved with Y2Y, a shelter for homeless young adults in Cambridge. Rashmi served on the board of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, which gives her a unique perspective on the issues.

GBA: The committee’s mission is “to assist the design community to enhance the quality of life of Boston’s homeless population through advocacy, volunteering, and pro-bono project work.” Can you give examples of past works or projects the committee was involved in?

GVDL: When we first started the committee, we took our cues from the work the taskforce was involved with. Their projects included, among other things, a range of renovation projects and planning studies. We quickly realized that we didn’t have the capacity yet to immediately take on this type of work, so we decided we first had to understand the current landscape better. We’ve been meeting with like-minded individuals and organizations at our monthly meetings and focused on building the partnerships needed to best serve the wide-ranging needs of the homeless. Since there are several community-focused groups (CDRC-Boston, Open Architecture Collaborative Boston, BSA Foundation) our goal from the start has been not to reinvent the wheel, but to find the role we can play to bring the right people to the right place to make a unique difference. An important event last year was a session on the role of micro-housing in addressing the needs of the homeless, which was hosted at the Architecture Boston Expo (ABX 2016). The session was moderated by Tom Acitelli from Curbed Boston, and we were fortunate to have panelists from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, the Mayor’s Housing Innovation Lab, and Margulies Perruzzi Architects.

GBA: Can you share with us what exciting initiatives or projects are on the pipeline for 2017?

GVDL: This year, we are following a themed approach for our sessions. In March, we will be focusing on health and the homeless.

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The challenges associated with homelessness look very different today than they did 20 years ago, and we will need the new generation of architects, planners, and designers to address these challenges by employing the opportunities, partnerships, and technologies we have at our disposal.

Upcoming events will address art, family, and children policy and architecture. During the summer, we hope to host a volunteering event and follow up with a fundraising/giving event in December.

We also plan to host a session at ABX this year. Details for these events will be available on our committee page.

GBA: Messages encouraging advocacy by architects have been much discussed in the last few months. In what way(s) do you think the Committee on Homelessness can actively augment this message, locally and nationally?

GVDL: We forget that the skills we develop as architects can be applied with great effect to help others. As a committee, we want to encourage others to become involved in this work, and more than that, we want to create the opportunities for them to do so.

Whatever hindrances people see in becoming involved – we want to remove those and help make the resources available to support the organizations and individuals already doing the work.

Advocacy efforts can either be directed at starting something "new" or supporting organizations and individuals that lack the unique skills and experience we as architects have. I believe that the key to successfully advocating is to understand when it is necessary to do something new, and when our support is of much more value.

GBA: What advice would you have for students and emerging professionals who also would like to be involved in community issues like homelessness?

GVDL: I consider three things to be important. First, life doesn’t take place in silos, so if there is an issue or a cause you are interested in, do not feel like you must become involved as a "designer" or "architect." Volunteer in whatever way you can be helpful because it will be through this involvement that you will learn what the real needs are. You are "human" before you are "architect," and sometimes that is all that is needed to change somebody’s life.

Second, find yourself a group to participate in. Your individual efforts are always appreciated, but your efforts are multiplied in a group. Your impact can be much greater when aligned with others.

Last, even if it takes a while to find a place where you feel you belong, the most important step is to make yourself available and help. It might take some time, but don’t give up when it gets hard.

John Wilson used to say, “Of course we don’t have the time and of course we don’t have the money, but it has to be done.”

within Boston?

GVDL: We have several goals, short and long term. Our most immediate goal would be to help people (and ourselves) better understand homelessness. When people hear the term, they immediately have a certain picture in their heads, and as we continue to learn, there is no single picture that accurately represents the homeless. Veteran, family, youth, adult – these are just a few "types" of homelessness that each requires a different approach. If we can help people understand the issues better, it would be a step in the right direction. Second, we want to find a way for people to break through the ‘“NIMBY (not in my backyard)” mindset as it relates to homelessness. It is easy to think that homelessness is a problem "somebody else" – perhaps the city or politicians, or non-profits – need to address. As a committee, our goal is to help people, and specifically the design community, to see ways in which we can support these positive efforts and that, without our support, the situation will not change.

GAB: How does being involved in such a complex community-wise issue change how you think about design?

GVDL: Becoming more involved with this work made me realize how much there is out there that I know nothing about. Even though I live in the city, I am worlds removed from the suffering and hardships from people that are only a few blocks away. It brings a new sense of humility and thankfulness but also a realization of responsibility. As it relates to my work, it helps me to understand that architects need to be intentional when looking for opportunities to make a difference. While I cannot directly address the needs of the homeless through every project, I can be intentional about identifying and pursuing the opportunities that will make a difference when this is a possibility.

I am also reminded that sometimes our biggest contribution is not as "architects" but as people. For example, I’m a member of a church in Watertown, and at times my greatest contribution is not designing the new nursery but rather providing a meal for somebody. By cultivating a general mindset of serving in whatever way is needed, you will be in a better position to apply your unique skills as an architect when the opportunity arises. ■

GBA: What are your goals for the committee’s work and the impact that our design community can have on the homeless population

Gabriela Baierle Atwood, AIA

is an architect with Arrowstreet in Boston, MA. She is currently serving as Architect Licensing Advisor for both the AIA Massachusetts and NCARB. She continues her involvement by being a member of the Boston Society of Architects and their Emerging Professionals Network, BosNOMA, and MakeTANK committees.

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SURVIVING NYC

MICRO-APARTMENTS AND MODULAR CONSTRUCTION INTERVIEW WITH JAMES GARRISON, AIA

BY IAN MERKER, AIA

James Garrison, AIA

A graduate of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, in 1978, Garrison joined Polshek and Partners in New York, where his perspective shaped the firm's signature projects, resulting in four Progressive Architecture Design Awards and two American Institute of Architects Honor Awards.

In 1991, he founded Garrison Architects. He personally oversees the firm’s wide range of projects, including the recent, award-winning modular Lehman College Child Care Center, NYC’s Beach Restoration Modules, and NYC’s Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Housing Prototype projects.

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hen Garrison Architects designed a modular prototype for emergency housing in New York City, one of the initial comments was that “these units are too nice.

People will want to stay here.” Modular construction has been the purvey of trailer parks. James Garrison, AIA is moving beyond that correlation and putting these units in one of the most expensive cities in the world for housing.

Under the right circumstances, modular systems can also reduce the cost of construction, but the industry has not yet evolved to that point.

IM: Please tell us about your projects that are helping people live and survive in New York City.

JG: One of the programs we are working with is the ‘micro apartment." This came out of a Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) study that identified that over 30 percent of New Yorkers live alone and that their housing is often overpriced and may not be appropriate for their lifestyle. We set about designing compact, flexible, and efficient apartments for these people. With that came the idea that well-designed communal amenities might take the place of larger individual apartments. Micro-apartments were a bid for housing appropriateness and affordability. They are replacing what we used to have in the city, the single resident occupancy (SRO) hotel, which was basically done away with by statute.

However, the price point for these smaller apartments is often no different from that of the housing of the last generation, when units were as much as 30 percent larger. In the end, the real estate community is using this approach to offset rising land and construction costs.

Housing affordability is determined by the many factors driving it.

When we talk about delivering modular housing at a good price, it’s a drop in the bucket, because of the numerous factors such as land value, construction cost, and profit expectations.

IM: So the factors are not enough land, regulations stating the minimum size of a unit, and amenities those units need to have. Would another factor be a cultural shift that accepts these units within the market?

JG: If you build a market-rate apartment house that is not a Housing Quality building, according to zoning, you can reduce the size of the units dramatically. We’re doing a building right now for 24

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ABOVE: Asbury Park Micro Apartments - Garrison Architects BELOW and OPPOSITE: Blesso Properties micro apartments - Garrison Architects

a great development company called Blesso Properties. It’s meant to deliver small apartments with a lot of shared amenities, with an emphasis on communal quality and co-consumption scenarios where people share different kinds of household items, shared dining spaces, food options, office co-working spaces, and health and wellness facilities. It’s really a kind of community in itself. This type of living is evolving, and we have a new generation with a desire for this lifestyle. This is a great, useful thing, and we need more housing like it.

There are certain land use and regulatory issues that raise the cost of housing, but I don’t believe that the regulations are the only culprit in the housing problem. We need more housing in general. Zoning is encouraging development in places like East New York, one of the last affordable communities, and people are being displaced [because of gentrification]. Situations like this lead to a housing affordability and community stability problem. Gentrification must become a factor in our ability to develop rational, well-executed housing policy.

IM: Are micro-apartments changing the way people are living?

Are we going back to a way of living that used to be acceptable but went out of fashion?

JG: Micro-apartments may work for singles and young professionals, but we have housing needs for families as well. We need appropriately designed, high-quality housing, and we need a lot of it. Our efforts on the construction and architectural side are in the service of building rationally and sustainably in the city so that we can do what is possible [as architects] to facilitate a more affordable and easier, less stressful way to build. Affordability and environmental stress are very important factors in this. When modular construction projects can be integrated with community and workforce development, we have a very nice situation. There is a business called Full Stack Modular that is starting to manufacture in New York City, serving this market and employing people to build locally. What we’re looking to accomplish with these methods is to lower the price and increase quality. Modular buildings have the potential to cut construction time in half and put housing in place in a less stressful way- less dirt, debris, and noise effects on neighbors and fewer automobiles and trucks idling, entering the site, and blocking the streets - the things that make building in New York City so hard to tolerate. Under the right circumstances, modular systems can also reduce the cost of construction, but the industry has not yet evolved to that point.

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IM: What may be the barriers to reducing construction cost? Is it related to what goes on in the factory?

JG: Monitoring factory fabrication is very easy. It’s just that we don’t have many manufacturers or widespread expertise in this field. It’s becoming more sophisticated, but it will take some time In the last few years, as we came out of the Great Recession and the area’s construction capacity was focused on rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, costs have risen substantially. In this context, the modular construction industry can help reduced costs by increasing overall capacity and offering well-designed affordable systems.

While experiments like the Forest City Ratner project (a 32-story modular tower in Brooklyn that had extreme cost overruns and project delays) had difficulties because they were doing it for the first time, and just like any other industrial object, such as the automobile, the effort must be repeated so that the technology and process evolves. Buildings are typically not repeated - each one is done from scratch – and that results in slow and inefficient production.

Modular buildings need to be considered an industrialized object so that they can evolve to take full advantage of the cost, speed, and quality advantages inherent in the approach.

For architects and engineers to design successful modular buildings, we must develop dedicated expertise and master the technologies of connection and assembly that are part of the process. And we must have well-funded, organized, and technically sophisticated manufacturers who are capable of delivering. There are many opportunities to take advantage of this approach. We’re planning a beautiful project in Asbury Park, New Jersey right now that has a green market, a robotic parking garage for 500 cars, and 10 stories of modular housing on top of that. The parking is concealed by vertical green-houses that produce vegetables for the market. It will leverage all the advantages of contemporary building technology, including modular construction, to serve the social and environmental goals of a very active and progressive community ■

Ian Merker, AIA LEED AP BD+C

is an architect at Rainforth Grau Architects in Sacramento, CA, specializing in the education sector.

He is Film Curator for AIA Central Valley, serves on the NCARB Experience Advisory Committee, AIA Center for Civic Leadership Citizen Architect group, and Young Architect Regional Director for Northern California.

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TINY HOMES

WITH BIG DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

BY BETH R. MOSENTHAL

A

merican homes are getting bigger. According to Census Bureau data, the median size of a home in the U.S. is 2,467sf; a whopping 61% bigger than 40 years ago. Meanwhile, home prices in sought-after cities and vacation towns are increasing far more rapidly than corresponding incomes for majority populations in these locations.

With increasing popularity as a recreation destination, the 5,400 person town of Salida, Colorado is experiencing this phenomenon.

A picturesque white-water rafting mecca adjacent to the Arkansas River, Salida is a sought-after lifestyle destination for both millennials and baby boomers. As part of Chaffee County, it was reported in the Denver Post that, while the average home price is $319,000, the average wage in the county is $33,143, with rent prices ranging from $1,200 to $1,400 per month.

Tackling challenges for 2-800sf “tiny” homes, including zoning (residential dwellings are often defined as homes over 800sf) and a current lack of industry standards, Rod Stambaugh, founder and president of La Junta, Colorado-based Sprout Tiny Homes, is working with city officials to provide a unique solution to Salida’s housing crisis. Approved for construction, the 200 tiny home development, the River View at Cleora will sit on a 19-acre parcel adjacent to the Arkansas River.

TV and social media channels. Sprout Tiny Home models utilize sustainable building methods such as structural insulated panels that allow homes to be “stronger, greener, straighter, and zero waste.” Sprout has also partnered with a local engineering firm to design loft beams that don’t require the use of Douglas Fir wood while creating greater head clearances in tight spaces, shares Stambaugh. “Because air quality is a huge concern for these types of homes and SIPS are very tight, we also put in high-end European air exchangers that circulate/bring in fresh air, take care of circulation, etc. A lot of people ignore air circulation [in tiny home models]–clean air quality, chemical-free homes are important in establishing our position in the market.”

So what does this mean for large-scale development projects? Are multi-family and mixed-use projects going to go by the wayside in favor of small individual living units? While there has been expressed interest in the River View model that might be relevant for similar Colorado cities such as Walsenburg, Pagosa Springs, and ski haven Steamboat Springs, there is still more work to be done in terms of legitimizing this housing typology in a way that would make exponential development viable.

The largest U.S. commercial tiny home development to date will boast shared amenities including a community center, garden, storage units, and five acres of trails and parks while providing leases with monthly rents ranging from $700-$1400. Of the 200 units, 140 homes will be dedicated to workforce housing (as longterm rentals), while 60 of the units will be managed as short-term rentals that may be run by tiny home vacation property managers such as We Casa.

Stambaugh refers to this housing development as “attainable” rather than “affordable.” “We’ve tried to move affordable housing out of the lingo; it’s not government subsidized. We call River View attainable housing because, if you look at what’s on the market today, you might find a home you could rent for $7-800 with an expensive utility bill in the winter because it’s poorly insulated. Our homes start at $700 including utilities--not only are you getting a healthy tiny home; you’re getting an attainable home from a monthly expense perspective. For $700 a month, it’s hard to find this quality elsewhere on the market.”

The quality construction Stambaugh alludes to infers that Sprout Tiny Home models are not of the “DIY” variety that are prolific on

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Stambaugh hopes to lay the ground work for new zoning regulations and building standards through his role as managing director of the Tiny Home Industry Association, a new association with a mission to “professionally advocate for the ‘tiny home’ lifestyle and emerging industry supporting it through its people, product, and policies.” “For this industry to be real and sustainable, it has to have standards; it can’t be the Wild West,” explains Stambaugh. “The International Residential Code made some changes in the latest code to be more friendly to smaller square footages. I think we will see more of this—the trend of housing getting smaller.”

Perhaps most surprising are tiny home enthusiast demographics.

While depicted on television as a housing typology that might appeal to millennials with small budgets and an appreciation for simpler living, Stambaugh has noticed that baby boomers are actively investing in tiny homes. “Baby boomers have had the big house. The kids are gone, and they are ready to slow it down; they don’t want to be burdened with the maintenance and upkeep of a 3,000+ sf home. They are migrating to the tiny home lifestyle. Low maintenance, energy efficient. I think that it’s a huge market for baby boomers.” As the baby boomer generation begins to retire

IMAGES COURTESY OF SPROUT

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and sees potential in buying 3 Sprout Tiny Homes at ~$65,000 each rather than owning and maintaining one large McMansion, it feels both logical and exciting.

While median home size continues to increase, if zoning and industry standards become more forgiving and refined in the years to come as natural resources inevitably become less abundant throughout the continental United States, the commercial development of tiny homes provides an interesting counterpoint to increasing square footage trends. For young architects who want to jump on the tiny home bandwagon, Stambaugh recommends that young architects first familiarize themselves with what it’s like to actually stay in a tiny home; “If you’re an architect, go stay in one and look at where innovation can happen. We innovate every day trying to make better use of the space. It costs money - when you think differently, build differently, design differently. For example, modern-day furniture and appliances are massive. When you go into a Home Depot, there is nothing for a tiny home. Innovation is required in all aspects.” ■

Beth R. Mosenthal, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

works at AndersonMasonDale Architects in Denver. She serves as a Senior Editor of YAF CONNECTION, Senior Editor/Writer for the AIA Colorado Emerging Professionals Blog, and as a columnist for the Colorado Real Estate Journal’s Building Dialogue Magazine.

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THE MACRO-UNIT

A HOUSING CONCEPT FOR YOUNG URBAN PROFESSIONALS

BY DAVID SENDEN, MARISSA KASDAN, AIMEE HO AND KATIE BENNETT

A

The macro-unit, by KTGY Architecture + Planning, is a single large dwelling unit with many private bedrooms (each with its own private bathroom) and a common shared kitchen and living area for all residents within the unit to enjoy.

s millennials continue to move in droves to urban centers, there is increased demand for housing solutions designed to meet their diverse needs. In most urban markets, there is a limited supply of rental units appropriate for a single person with a starting salary budget. This disparity of supply and demand has driven rental prices up to a point where many young adults are spending more on their housing expenses than is typically recommended. Young renters in New York, Boston, and San Francisco, for example, can easily spend 50 percent or more of their gross salary on rent. Those who choose to pay unsustainably high rents to live the lifestyle they desire may then sacrifice potential savings or risk accruing increased personal debt. Others may have to live in unsafe areas or in substandard conditions. Many developers are addressing these issues by decreasing the size of studio apartments in their recent developments. As unit square footages decrease, rents tend to follow. Over the last 10 years, the average size of a studio apartment has decreased 18 percent, from 614 square feet to 504 square feet. This trend is also linked to the recent rise of the micro-unit: super-small studios popping up in urban areas around the nation and abroad.

Residential design must evolve to reflect the diverse and changing needs of young adults as they enter the workforce. While decreasing the size of the units is one solution for maintaining affordable rents, not all renters want to live in a tiny apartment by themselves. The millennial generation thrives on the social interaction of Internet sites like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook and by hanging out with groups of friends at coffee shops, breweries, and food halls.

The macro-unit is a new community living solution that integrates a connection to a greater social network by combining the modest rent associated with small square footage per resident, with the social interaction of shared common living spaces.

By minimizing the square footage of the private bedrooms and bathrooms, a larger space can be devoted to the common kitchen and living areas. Various seating configurations have been incorporated into the living area to serve multiple people or groups of people engaging in smaller conversations. The lounge seating area in the living room connects through a glass roll-up garagestyle door to the large outdoor balcony, expanding the area of the living space. The kitchen provides duplicate appliances to better 28

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OPPOSITE: FLOOR PLAN AND DIAGRAM - Courtesy KTGY Architecture + Planning BELOW: LIVING AND KITCHEN AREA - The large living and kitchen area provides a range of seating options for eating, working, relaxing and socializing - Courtesy KTGY Architecture + Planning

serve all 11 residents. Two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two microwaves, and two ovens make simultaneous cooking projects possible. Booth and bar seating with built-in charging stations are designed for eating and socializing, as well as providing a location for residents to work from home.

Young adults have been renting large houses and dividing the spaces with their friends to make the rent affordable for many years. The Macro-Unit takes that concept a step further to create a more formalized design solution. With a variety of management and leasing options, and flexibility in the building design, the macro-unit can be adapted to the specific needs of a site and target demographic. In keeping with the great diversity of today’s young urban professional community, residential housing solutions intended to serve this community must strive for equally varied housing solutions. The Macro-Unit aspires to contribute to that diversity.■

In keeping with the great diversity of today’s young urban professional community, residential housing solutions intended to serve this community must strive for equally varied housing solutions.

David Senden

Aimee Ho, AIA

Marissa Kasdan, Assoc. AIA

Katie Bennett AIA

David Senden, Principal, partner and board member, leads the KTGY Architecture + Planning high-density practice out of the Irvine office. Mr. Senden has designed numerous award-winning projects from coast to coast including mixed-use, multifamily, affordable, campus, and recreational developments.

Marissa Kasdan has more than 10 years of experience designing complex residential and mixed-use developments. In her role as Senior Designer in KTGY’s R+D Studio, she creates forward-looking solutions for modern living. She earned her BArch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Aimee Ho graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with her BArch. She has extensive experience designing low- and high-density residential projects across the United States and internationally. She brings this knowledge to her work in the R+D studio at KTGY Architecture + Planning’s Irvine office.

Katie Bennett, AIA received her MArch from the University of Kansas and is currently a designer in the R+D studio at KTGY Architecture + Planning, Irvine. She brings a wide range of experience in mixed-use, residential, commercial, and education projects to her role.

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CHAIR'S CORNER

IT’S THEIR HOME…NOT YOURS

I JUST WANT TO LIVE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE...

BY STEPHEN L. SCHOCH

A

fter 30+ years of designing projects communities that provide housing homes for those with low incomes and special needs, I find that this simple statement embodies the core principle we as architects need to understand – yet often miss – especially when designing affordable housing. This is not me talking, by the way – it is the collective voice of those who actually live in public housing or income-restricted communities, and people who struggle with even the most basic aspects of daily living despite their physical or mental challenges, and I’ve heard it repeated many times over the years. The unique challenge for architects who design affordable housing is to always remember that you are creating someone’s home, not just another housing unit. It’s not about us. It’s not even about creating a "cool" building or "making a statement" (that’s a hard one for most of us to swallow). It’s about providing the best possible home for people who – because of their income or circumstances – simply grasp for what few opportunities they are given and don’t often have the luxury to choose their living accommodations.

Despite our best efforts, it can be hard to draw out meaningful direction for our projects from design charrettes and workshops when the resident stakeholders are hoping only for toilets that don’t overflow and roofs that don’t leak. Sometimes they dare not even hope that their new home would even have its own address – a place where they can call for a pizza delivery and reasonably expect that one will actually come. These are the real-life challenges they face every day, so it’s not easy for them to get as excited about different building typologies, massing, and aesthetics as we do. These are the tools we architects use to envision the future buildings, but our work doesn’t stop with the sticks and bricks.

Our work is not only to design the building that will eventually come; we also play a part in reinforcing the truth that each person affected by our work has fundamental value, has inherent dignity, and deserves our utmost respect as our real "client" – even if they aren’t the ones paying our fees. It seems almost silly to remind ourselves that we need to treat people with this kind of respect – but history has many reminders of grand architectural experiments in "social housing" that fail to regard the individual resident with such basic consideration. Utopian ideas of how other people should live are not uncommon in our profession – and are more likely to be built when it’s the government dollar paying the bill, and there are few restrictions apart from the number of units and minimum square footages. Yet how many of these efforts have failed miserably to create sustainable neighborhoods, ultimately

to be torn down and replaced within a few short decades? These are learnable lessons, and they can be avoided by remembering that we are privileged to be designing their new home…not our next project.

The best affordable housing efforts seem to recognize the dangers of stigmatization and tackle it head-on. In New Jersey, recent changes in the funding regulations often favor projects that intentionally blend a mix of incomes, and include up to 25% of the units set-aside for those with disabilities or other special-needs populations. By including this kind of supportive housing in every project, the overall inventory of accessible housing is increased, and the economic and social dividing lines are blurred – which is affirming both to the individual and to the community as a whole.

The physical design, too, is often more contextual than contrasting to that of the surrounding neighborhood, which allows residents to comfortably feel a part of a greater community rather than a single "project" or building. Architects sensitive to these issues focus on eliminating outward signs of stigmatization, such as "cookie-cutter" monotony, institutional aesthetics, obvious ramping, and even eliminating the labeling of the new homes under a ‘project name’.

Everything matters in the design of their new homes – just like it does for our own.

Front-and-center on the new AIA website is a clear statement of values on where we, as architects, stand on core issues. The very first two core convictions affirm that we stand for equity and human rights, and for architecture that strengthens our communities. It’s not a mistake that these values are listed first – as they speak to the impact of what we do on real people. Yes, we value the construction technology and the art of architecture and design – but we must never forget that it’s how people experience our work over time that is the most important test of good design. After all, it’s their home…not ours. ■

Stephen L. Schoch, AIA, LEED-AP BD&C

is a managing principal of Kitchen & Associates Services, Inc., an 80-person A/E/P/I firm in Southern New Jersey, a member of AIA West Jersey, and a board member of the Supportive Housing Association of NJ (shanj.org).

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CREATING AFFORDABILITY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

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STUDIO ONE ELEVEN

BY MICHAEL BOHN

S

tudio One Eleven is dedicated to the revitalization and enhancement of urban areas through an integrated practice of architecture, landscape, and urban design. The Studio is focused on mixed-use infill, hospitality, urban revitalization, planning, and community projects that create vibrant communities, while remaining rooted in the principles of smart growth and long-term sustainability. Located in Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, their studio deeply understands the needs of the community and focuses on the thoughtful design of incremental and implementable interventions that favor re-use and communitysupported improvements. The CONNECTION team invited Michael Bohn, a senior principal of Studio One Eleven, to talk about the firm's philosophy and some of the projects they are working on.

While committed to architectural solutions that represent contemporary buildings of our time, our designs are not predicated by a singular language but are inspired by the careful assessment of the programs and places where they stand. We believe that the best way to enhance or create the future of a place is to respect and understand its past patterns and precedents. We utilize community feedback and engagement to inform our approach to all projects, ensuring that the development meets the needs of the end-user.

We understand how to create environments that are attractive to guests, residents, and retailers alike. Each project is a collaborative effort. Working closely with our clients, we seek to discover a projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full potential through creative design, effective communication, and positive working relationships.

Designing for the lowest possible impact on the environment is the foundation for all of our work. Sustainability is integral to our creative process, and we design to the highest degree preferred by our clients.

Figueroa Garden, Los Angeles, California Consistent with the region overall, South Los Angles is experiencing a housing affordability crises. Recently approved by the Los Angeles City Council, the intent of this project is to provide the most affordable entry-level home for purchase possible. This will be achieved by developing a compact home with a framework that is easily expandable over time as the homeowner's salary increases or equity grows.

The ability to add on in an inexpensive way is feasible because

TOP RIGHT: FIGUEROA GARDEN - Site Plan Courtesy Studio One Eleven BOTTOM RIGHT: FIGUEROA GARDEN-PROGRAMMATIC DIAGRAM Courtesy Studio One Eleven

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Designing for the lowest impact on the environment is the foundation of all of our work. the roof, load-bearing walls, and most mechanical systems are already in place. Sold as a one bedroom, it can easily expand into a two- or three-bedroom unit as a family or home-based business grows or the need to accommodate a roommate is required.

Through ownership and the ability to expand in an inexpensive way, buyers are encouraged to stay as long-term community stakeholders, resulting in greater stability in this largely transitional neighborhood.

International Youth Hostel, Long Beach, California The proposed International Youth Hostel for Long Beach comprises 100 beds, providing an affordable hospitality alternative for visitors. The development will energize 6th Street by concealing the existing three-story parking structure with active ground

floor uses such as a lobby, cafe, bar, and lounge for both guests and the community. The 15,000 sf hostel provides various levels of accommodation, including options for travelers on a budget.

Utilizing shipping containers pre-fitted off site, the second and third floors provide highly cost effective units with 4-6 beds per container, while the top floor offers more private accommodations.

The team is utilizing traffic calming implementations on 6th Street, including the removal of one traffic lane and the addition of street trees to expand the site and create a pedestrian-friendly environment. This project serves as the first phase of investment to catalyze a larger redevelopment effort. â&#x2013;

ABOVE: FIGUEROA GARDEN - CONCEPT - Courtesy Studio One Eleven PREVIOUS PAGE TOP: INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL - Exterior Rendering - Courtesy Studio One Eleven PREVIOUS PAGE MIDDLE: INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL - Site Plan - Courtesy Studio One Eleven PREVIOUS PAGE BOTTOM: INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL - Section - Courtesy Studio One Eleven

Michael Bohn, AIA

Is a senior principal for Studio One Eleven, where he is responsible for architectural, landscape and urban design. He is currently President of the American Institute of Architects, Long Beach/South Bay Chapter. Michael is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

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FEATURE

NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY

AN INTERVIEW WITH RASMIA KIRMANI-FRYE AND JAE SHIN

BY YU-NGOK LO

The CONNECTION team is interested in undrestanding how cities are addressing the affordable housing issue across the country. We were able to spend some time with Ms. Rasmia Kirmani-Frye and Ms. Jae Shin at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to talk about the Rose Architectural Fellowship and the projects NYCHA is doing.

Rasmia Kirmani-Frye

was appointed Director, Office of Public/Private Partnerships for the New York City Housing Authority in March 2015. She develops and manages NYCHA’s strategic relationships with external entities including non-profit organizations, philanthropic investors, and private sector partners. Ms. Kirmani-Frye is also the founding president of the Fund for Public Housing, a new 501(c)(3) organization that serves NYCHA residents and their communities.

Jae Shin

is an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow at the New York City Housing Authority, where she facilitates the agency’s efforts to define and implement design principles for safe, clean, and connected communities. Jae is also a partner at Hector, an urban design, planning & civic arts studio, where recent projects have included a memorial for an eco-feminist nun, a riverfront park, and an experimental exhibition on mortgage finance. As an educator, Jae has led design studios at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Yu-Ngok Lo (YL): Could you tell a little bit about NYCHA? Rasmia Kirmani-Frye (RKF): The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the largest and oldest public housing authority in the country. In the eight decades since NYCHA was founded by Mayor La Guardia, millions of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers have relied on NYCHA for safe, secure, and affordable housing.

Through our public housing portfolio, we provide housing for more than 400,000 people. In addition, we serve more than 200,000 people through the country’s largest Section 8 program. To put those numbers in perspective, we house 1 in 14 New Yorkers, and we are bigger than the populations of Atlanta and Boston.

Jae Shin (JS): NYCHA’s scale means that it has a tremendous impact on the built environment of New York City. While other American public housing authorities have demolished their brick towers in recent decades, New York City has taken a decisive path to preserve them. Eighty-seven percent of the 180,000 apartments in our portfolio are in iconic tower-in-the-park communities that are deeply embedded into the urban fabric across the five boroughs.

Beyond the physical impact, preserving public housing stock at that massive scale also has had unique social and cultural implications for our city, defining who lives here and the social networks of our neighborhoods.

RKF: New Yorkers appreciate and value most of our public assets: public art, public schools, public transit, public libraries, and public parks. The reality is that we should all appreciate and value public 34

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housing, too. Without it, other public systems would not work. The top three employers of NYCHA residents are the Department of Education, NYCHA, and the Police Department; nine of the top ten employers are public systems. This workforce is the foundation of the city’s public infrastructure.

And interestingly, the one employer in the top 10 that is not public is an organization through which vulnerable and home-bound New Yorkers receive in-home care. Public housing residents truly do take care of their fellow New Yorkers.

YL: New York’s housing market is one of the least affordable in the country. What is NYCHA’s role in keeping the city affordable?

JS: NYCHA provides deep, permanent affordability in housing for New Yorkers. The rent for our apartments is capped at 30 percent of the family income; the average annual income of a NYCHA family is $23,680. While there are many different types of affordable housing available in NYC, NYCHA typically serves families in the lowest income bracket.

RKF: NYCHA provides more than half of the units that rent for less than $800 per month and almost three-quarters of the units that rent for less than $500 per month in New York City. That higher number reflects what rent would be for a household of three making 40 percent of the area median income (AMI), and the tragic reality is that any housing developed in this city that serves households of up to 165 percent of AMI is considered “affordable.”

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RKF: NYCHA houses 1 in 14 New Yorkers, and we are bigger than the populations of Alanta and Boston JS: To say that we face a tremendous challenge in preserving this valuable affordable housing stock would be an understatement.

The majority of our buildings are over 50 years old, and many have not had proper maintenance. For the past 15 years, the federal government has consistently reduced their funding for NYCHA. As a result, we currently have about 17 billion dollars of unmet capital needs. Given this financial instability, fixing our buildings properly and maintaining them in a state of good repair is an immense challenge. If you consider Rasmia’s point about public housing as an urban infrastructure, interlinked with other public systems that that keep New York City running, figuring out how to overcome this challenge is our collective responsibility.

YL: Can you tell us about some of the agency’s recent initiatives pertaining to architecture and design? How have you each been involved in these initiatives? Who are your partners?

RKF: In 2015, NYCHA launched a set of agency-wide initiatives as a 10-year strategic plan called NextGeneration NYCHA. These initiatives focus on how NYCHA will create safe, clean, and connected communities and preserve New York’s public housing

assets by putting the agency on a stable financial footing.

Strategy #14 of NextGen was to create a not-for-profit organization.

I worked with NYCHA’s legal staff and with outside counsel to develop the bylaws and initial organizational structures, and in late 2015, I became the founding president of the Fund for Public Housing. The Fund gained its 501(c)(3) determination in early 2016 and could begin fundraising at that point. Since then, we have built an incredible network of supporters and really begun to mobilize the Fund to make a difference in NYCHA resident communities, by collaborating with public and private partners to reimagine and improve the way public housing works.

The work we have done through the Fund for Public Housing is relevant to many of the other NextGen strategies. NextGen was formulated to be that way, with different parts of NYCHA, city agencies, and outside organizations working together toward the overarching vision of safe, clean, and connected communities. We have organized the Fund’s investments into three buckets: People, Place, and Work. Because Jae’s efforts are relevant to the Fund’s Place bucket—in the realm of the built environment—the Fund

ABOVE: NYCHA's YOUTH COUNCILS - The Fund of Public Housing is supporting the development of NYCHA's youth councils, an initiative launched in November 2016 at a leadership summit for young residents of developments in all five boroughs - Courtesy NYCHA Q1 -2017

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contributed resources to the NextGen NYCHA Design Excellence initiative.

JS: The main focus for this initiative was to develop a set of design standards with updated requirements that applied consistently to our rehab work. And the key first step was to put together a principles document, Design Guidelines, that reflected NYCHA’s broader goals to create safe, clean, and connected communities.

The guidelines are a tool or a reference book for our designers, helping us prioritize those goals throughout day-to-day design

JS: I joined NYCHA (as a Rose Architectural Fellow) to help improve the quality of NYCHA's residential buildings through an initiative to adopt design excellence practices at NYCHA’s Office of Design.

practice.

Apart from our internal collaborators from various departments, we partnered with AIA NY’s Housing Committee and Design for the Aging Committee. Other partnerships included drawing from Enterprise Community Partners and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Health for their expertise on sustainability and healthy homes practice. And of course, as Rasmia mentioned, we worked closely with the Fund for Public Housing, which provided programmatic support and funding.

In January of this year, we published our updated Design Guidelines along with the corresponding standard specifications. The Center for Architecture (AIA NY) hosted a presentation event that had a full-capacity crowd. We have had huge support from the NYC design community while putting this document together and since its publication. They have shown a strong interest in learning about our work and contributing to design excellence at NYCHA. YL: How will your work affect the quality of life in the NYC community?

RKF: As I mentioned, the Fund categorizes its investments in three focus areas: People, Place, and Work. We define People as helping residents thrive and reach their full potential, such as

through improved health and educational outcomes; Place is reimagining the public housing “campus” to make it safer and more usable for residents while better connecting with and enhancing the surrounding community; and Work is about investing in training programs and, even more importantly, other tools to help NYCHA residents move from informal to formal income sources, take advantage of mainstream financial products, develop their own businesses, and increase their standing in their chosen professions by connecting them with professional leaders and peers. The broad nature of these investment categories creates flexibility in the early years of the organization, and it will allow us to include residentled programmatic investments in the near future. The Fund aims to contribute to greater prosperity in public housing communities, as well as to de-stigmatize public housing and reorient New Yorkers to think of it as an asset worthy of investment.

JS: Where the rehabilitation practices affect the quality of life for NYCHA residents, the agency has committed to adopt more rigorous sustainability standards and healthy homes practice.

The Design Guidelines implement the commitments in the Sustainability Agenda, the agency’s broader plan to create healthy and comfortable homes that will withstand the challenge of climate change. To highlight some of these commitments here, we have applied Enterprise Green Communities Criteria into our rehab scope of work, outlining relevant criteria for our designers to follow.

When it comes to healthy homes priorities, we have updated our standards for using healthy materials and created a training program in healthy homes practices like integrated pest management and mold prevention.

YL: Jae, could you tell us about the Rose Fellowship? How did you end up working at NYCHA? As a designer with an architectural background, how do you think your education/interests help your work at the agency? What are some of your challenges and rewards of the job?

JS: The Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship places emerging architects and designers in local community development organizations, where they facilitate an inclusive and innovative approach to equitable community development. As full-time staff members of the organization, the fellows help advance its practices in community engagement, sustainability, and design excellence. The program provides leadership training opportunities and technical resources to fellows as they execute their carefully curated work plans. While in the past, the fellowship primarily partnered designers with community development corporations,

OPPOSITE: NEW BATHROOM DESIGN STANDARDS PUBLISHED IN RECENT NYCHA DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR REHABILITATION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS. - learn more about the Guidelines at nyc.gov/nycha - Courtesy NYCHA

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JS: It’s been a fascinating learning process to think about how design excellence should be defined at a large housing provider at the scale of NYCHA and how contemporary participatory design practices can be incorporated into that framework. it has evolved in recent years to be responsive to contemporary needs within community development, placing fellows in public agencies including the Denver Housing Authority, New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, and NYCHA. Most of my experiences after studying architecture in grad school involved working with local community organizations and city officials on community design and planning projects. I’ve also become invested in education, both from working on youth engagement projects and teaching architecture and urban design to university students. A Rose Fellowship at NYCHA excited me because I was at a point in my career where I wanted to take the lessons I learned from these various participatory design practices and apply them to a large organization.

So far, it’s been a fascinating learning process to think about how design excellence should be defined and structured for a housing provider at the scale of NYCHA and how contemporary participatory design practices can be incorporated into that framework.

YL: When it comes to learning from or collaborating with your peers, what cities, organizations, or design practices can you mention? Is there anything you have learned from looking at other U.S. cities or from around the world?

RKF: My colleagues at the Fund for Public Schools and the Fund for Public Health have been invaluable resources in the early days of building the Fund for Public Housing, sharing their stories about creating a brand, garnering new types of support, and developing organizational practices. We are all keeping our eyes open for formal collaboration opportunities. We also look to housing authorities in the U.S. and Canada, in cities such as Denver, Toronto, and Akron, that are doing interesting things to engage their residents and build on the assets those residents bring to their communities.

JS: One of the great things about the Rose Fellowship has been the opportunity to connect with designers who are doing innovative work in affordable housing. Their programs have offered the opportunity to establish a channel of exchange with architects like Tim Love, FAIA from Utile, about the public realm and the social life of city neighborhoods, Mark Ginsberg, FAIA from Curtis+Ginsberg Architects, about the affordable housing industry, and Ya’el Santopinto, MRAIC of ERA Architects, about community engagement practices in housing rehab.

of supportive colleagues. There are six fellows in my cohort all around the country, working on diverse issues like equitable transit oriented development, designing active public space in transit hubs, adaptive reuse in post-industrial towns, sustainable district planning, sustainable rehab practices, and housing advocacy for Native American communities. We are in constant touch with one another and share our experiences and resources. I share the toughest challenges I face with them, and they are always available to help me problem solve. I think this network of peer support is one of the reasons that the Rose Fellowship has been so successful over the years.

YL: What are some of the projects you have in the pipeline? How do you think the new administration (president) can help addressing the housing issue in the country?

RKF: A few of our initiatives for the next year include creating a Resident Leadership Academy with the CUNY-Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies; staging a tech exhibition, which will engage tech companies to pilot solutions to NYCHA’s property management and operational challenges; exploring and developing cooperative business structures for resident entrepreneurs; and using a resident-focused process for redesigning green space to create safer, more connected NYCHA developments.

We have a standing invitation for Secretary Carson and President Trump to visit NYCHA and see how vital public housing is to the city’s economy and culture. Public housing and Section 8 vouchers are critical to prevent homelessness, promote stability, and create upward mobility among the lowest-income Americans. We urge the administration to uphold the Fair Housing Act, absolutely essential in the fight against discrimination in renting and mortgage lending.

We also hope that the president’s planned corporate tax cuts, if promulgated, are not so steep as to disincentivize the development of new affordable housing through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. Nearly 2.5 million units of housing have been funded through this program since its inception. ■

But most of all, I am the biggest fan of my Rose Fellowship network.

The fellowship is programmed so that the fellows form a tight group

OPPOSITE: NEW BATHRROM AND KITCHEN DESIGN STANDARDS PUBLISHED IN RECENT NYCHA DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR REHABILITATION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING. - learn more about the guidelines at nyc.gov/nycha - Courtesy NYCHA

Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA, NOMA, CDT, LEED AP

is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the Communication Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA and the Editor-In-Chief of the YAF official publication CONNECTION. Yu-Ngok is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award.

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MEASURE HHH

HOW CITY OF LOS ANGELES IS COMBATING HOMELESSNESS

BY YU-NGOK LO

Alisa Orduna is Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Homelessness Policy Director. She is a seasoned community development practitioner with close to twenty years of experience in working in the nonprofit and government sectors. Alisa brings a rich understanding of homelessness services and policy, urban affairs, neighborhood development and planning, and community mediation. In addition to working for the City of Los Angeles, Alisa has also worked for the City of Philadelphia as Special Project Director to Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell. Her most recent professional experience includes working as a program officer at United Way of Greater Los Angeles as a member of the Home For Good team.

City of Los Angeles and the office of Mayor Eric Garcetti has been on the forefront in fighting homelessness in the City of Los Angeles.

Measure HHH (or Proposition HHH) is the city's latest effort to address the homelessness issue. The CONNECTION team was able to reach out the mayor's office to talk about this initiative.

of new affordable housing units constructed in the city along with the specific goal to "increase the combined annual amount of federal, state, and local money dedicated to affordable housing development by at least 33% compared to 2014 levels," which HHH helps to achieve.

Yu-Ngok Lo (YL): The City of Los Angeles recently passed Measure HHH to combat the city’s homelessness issue with overwhelming support. Could you tell us a little bit about the measure?

YL: How can young architects and small firm practitioners participate in projects funded by the measure?

AO: Supportive and Affordable housing projects are submitted to the city by developers and are responsible for assembling their development teams, including architectural design. We would encourage architects and design professionals to actively engage with the developers. The success of these supportive and affordable housing projects relies on innovative and sustainable solutions brought forward by the design professionals.

Alisa Orduna (AO): On November 8, 2016, voters approved Proposition HHH (Prop HHH) on the state's General Election ballot.

Prop HHH provides the city with authority to issue up to $1.2 billion in General Obligation bonds (GO bonds) to finance the development of permanent supportive housing (PSH), affordable housing, and facilities. PSH will be constructed for chronically homeless and homeless households.

PSH is housing combined with services, which may include mental and health services, drug and alcohol treatment, and education and job training. In accordance with Prop HHH, eighty percent (80%) of the GO bond proceeds are targeted for PSH units. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the bond proceeds may be used for affordable housing, including veterans and housing for extremely low-income, very low-income, or low- income individuals and families, who are at risk of homelessness. GO bond proceeds may also be used to finance facilities that provide services to the homeless, such as service centers, health centers, shelters, storage, and shower facilities. Bond proceeds may only be used for “bricks and mortar,” not operations or services.

YL: How does Measure HHH correspond to the guidelines created under pLAn in 2015?

AO: Measure HHH helps to achieve the goal of increasing the combined annual amount of federal, state, and local money dedicated to affordable housing development by at least 33% compared to the 2014 levels.

YL: How will the City of LA work with other entities and/or organizations such as the Skid Row Housing Trust, the American Institute of Architects, developers, and local communities to make this successful?

AO: Included in pLAn 2015 is a section on increasing the number

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AO: We need an "all hands on deck" approach to solve our homelessness crisis. That means working closely with affordable housing developers, non-profits, and the faith-based community to ensure that homeless Angelenos receive the support and housing they need. Building permanent supportive housing in LA requires complete collaboration between all these overlapping parties, and in Los Angeles, we've seen what is possible when the priorities of the public and private sector align to meet the moral imperative of caring for those who need us most. When all Angelenos band together--when we fight this battle hand in hand--we can get more people into the homes they deserve more quickly than ever before.

YL: The passing of the Measure HHH is starting to have a ripple effect on other cities within LA County. How can the City of LA elevate this issue further, set it as an example, and get national or even international attention?

ABOVE: Welcome Home Project - Mayor Garcetti and Volunteers packing 100 Move-In Kits to be delivered to newly housed formerly homelss Angelenos for the Welcome Home Project at HNTB Arcitecture, Inc. Courtesy City of Los Angeles

AO: We hope that our Comprehensive Housing Strategy will serve as a model for the nation--but we must continue to learn from each other and share best practices. By passing Measure HHH, the people of Los Angeles spoke loud and clear: it is essential that we fund housing for folks who are forced to sleep on our streets.

No city will solve homelessness overnight. It is a long-term crisis that calls for long-term solutions, and one of the most urgent challenges we face is the need to increase our housing stock, so that we can help get people off the streets as quickly as possible.

Prop. HHH gives LA the sustained funding source we need to build housing that complements the unprecedented work we have done to address this crisis â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from increasing outreach to building up access to rental subsidies through our Rapid Rehousing program. â&#x2013;

Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA, NOMA, CDT, LEED AP

is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the Communication Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA and the Editor-In-Chief of the YAF official publication CONNECTION. Yu-Ngok is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award.

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HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (NAR)

by Yu-Ngok Lo

Adam DeSanctis is the economic issues media manager at the National Association of Realtors. He provides written and oral commentary on the U.S. housing market based on NAR Research’s extensive data on the industry.

T

he National Association of Realtors publishes the Housing Affordability Index every year. It is an indicator of median household income relative to the income needed to purchase a median-priced house. It is calculated using the following formula:

Housing Affordability Index = (Median Family Income / Qualifying Income) X 100 A value over 100 indicates that the average household income is more than sufficient to purchase a median-priced home.

The CONNECTION team was able to speak with Adam DeSanctis, the Economic Issues Media Manager at the National Association of Realtors, on the Housing Affordability Index of the 4th quarter of 2016.

YL: The Housing Affordability Index published by the National Association of Realtors shows a composite and fixed affordability index of 166.8 and 166.4, respectively, for November 2016, a decrease from the 176.9 and 175.1 numbers in 2013. What does that mean? Based on the data your organization collected, what is the trend we are seeing in the housing market in terms of affordability?

AD: Housing affordability weakened at the end of 2016 for two reasons: higher home prices and rising mortgage rates. The run up in mortgage rates immediately after the election in November pinched the budget of homebuyers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.2 percent in December, the highest of 2015 and 2016, and it appears set to stay above 4 percent for a long

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while. By NAR estimates, the rise of mortgage rates from 3.5 to 4.2 percent increased monthly payment by $75, while a rise from 4.2 to 5.0 percent will increase monthly payments by $90. Affordability will remain a pressing concern in 2017 if supply shortages continue to keep price growth at a hearty rate in many markets.

YL: What is the methodology used to create this index?

AD: The National Association of REALTORS® affordability index measures whether or not a typical family could qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home. The higher the index is, the more favorable affordability is. These components – the median singlefamily home price, median family income, and prevailing mortgage interest rate – are used in the calculation.

To interpret the indices, a value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. An index above 100 signifies that a family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.

YL: Is the trend a simple supply and demand problem? Or is trend triggered by something else?

AD: The trend in slightly weaker affordability is absolutely related not only to the rise in mortgage rates, but also to the uneven balance of supply in relation to demand. The number of homes for sale lags underlying demand in many areas. As a result, price growth is robust – up around 10% in some markets – as multiple offers drive up prices and lead to homes selling quickly. More new and existing inventory is needed to keep price growth at a healthier level of around 3-4%.

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YL: What type of government policies does the NAR advocate for?

Is providing more affordable housing projects in the country part of NAR's agenda?

NAR strives to preserve and expand housing opportunities while working closely with Congress to address housing affordability concerns and help sustain homeownership.

AD: Owning a home has long-standing government support in this country, which is why the country needs public policies that promote responsible, sustainable homeownership. Any changes to current programs or incentives should not hinder housing and economic activity.

YL: How do you think architects (especially young architects) and design professionals can help to tackle this problem? How can architects and realtors potentially work together in the future in addressing the nation's homeless, and affordability problem?

Homeownership must remain a priority on the national policy agenda because it affects all Americans. Issues like the mortgage interest deduction, affordable financing, and access to credit don’t just affect people who own a home – homeownership shapes communities and strengthens the nation’s economy.

AD: The homebuilding industry is not producing enough housing – especially affordable housing – to meet the strong underlying demand for homebuying in much of the country. In fact, new home construction has been stuck at or near recessionary levels ever since the Great Recession. This is why home prices have risen so fast in recent years – up 41% since 2011.

Realtors, architects, and builders all play an important role in making sure current and new housing stock is attainable and available to those interested in achieving their dreams of owning a home.

In 2016, NAR’s Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey found that 87% of non-owners do want to own a home in the future.

Listening to the consumers, addressing their needs, and delivering on it is crucial for the future of homeownership in America. The entire housing industry plays a role in ensuring that homeownership opportunities exist for creditworthy borrowers at all income brackets.

■

ABOVE: NAR Housing Affordability Index with breakouts for metropolitan areas - Courtesy National Association of Realtors

Yu-Ngok Lo, AIA, NOMA, CDT, LEED AP

is the principal of YNL Architects, Inc. He is the Communication Director of the Young Architects Forum National Advisory Committee of the AIA and the Editor-In-Chief of the YAF official publication CONNECTION. Yu-Ngok is a recipient of the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award.

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PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

SKID ROW HOUSING TRUST

BY MIKE ALVIDREZ

THIS ARTICLE IS A COLLABORATION WITH THE NOMA MAGAZINE

E

ight years ago, Ed Givens was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health as one of the top 50 homeless individuals most likely to die on the streets of Downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. After being referred to Skid Row Housing Trust’s Cobb Apartments, Ed was able to address the underlying conditions that led him to be homeless, maintain his housing, improve his health and mental health, and reconnect with family and community. If you met Ed today, you would never know that he was once in such a vulnerable situation; his story is a testimony to the transformative power of what we call the permanent supportive housing model – a combination of subsidized housing and comprehensive supportive services.

There are thousands of Eds who still struggle to survive on the streets of Skid Row, throughout Los Angeles, and across the entire nation. We identify them as “chronically homeless” – individuals who are homeless for years at a time (in Ed’s case, over 25 years) and have a combination of disabling medical and mental health conditions that make it almost impossible for them to access housing independently. A February 2016 study found that LA County spends over $1 billion a year caring for and managing homeless people.

The majority ($577 million) went to health needs, another $294 million was for benefits and food stamps, and another $41 million was for law enforcement costs – including arrests by the Sheriff's Department, jail stays, and probation for homeless people. A similar study conducted by the Economic Roundtable seven years ago found a similar breakdown of county costs, but identified that those costs decreased by 80% once homeless individuals were able to access permanent supportive housing.

Skid Row Housing Trust, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1989, embraces permanent supportive housing as a practical and evidence-based approach to ending chronic homelessness – an approach that both saves lives and saves the public millions of dollars. Our mission is to develop and operate permanent supportive housing for individuals who have experienced homelessness, prolonged extreme poverty, poor health, disabilities, mental illness, and/or addiction so that they can lead safe, stable lives in wellness.

Today we have a portfolio of 26 properties with 1,848 apartment homes in and around Downtown Los Angeles, and each property is staffed by on-site case managers and property managers whose primary aim is to ensure the long-term health, wellbeing, and stability of each resident. This year, almost 2,000 formerly homeless and low-income individuals called a Skid Row Housing Trust apartment home. Approximately 67% of our residents are African American; 18% are Hispanic/Latino; 13% are Caucasian; and 2% are Asian or identify as mixed race. 75% are male; 24% are female; and 1% is transgender. Our residents’ average age is 53, and their physical age could be anywhere from 10 to 20 years older because of the time they have spent living on the streets. The average monthly income of our residents is $580, with the primary sources of income being General Relief, Supplemental Security Income, earned income, and Social Security Disability Insurance.

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We owe it to people like Ed to reflect on significant moments and movements that have shaped permanent supportive housing’s evolution over the past 25 years and to thoughtfully consider where do we go from here?

Some of Skid Row Housing Trust’s evolution was shaped, often aggressively, by external forces; some was the result of our willingness to pioneer innovative solutions to homelessness. Below are five major lessons that have shaped Skid Row Housing Trust’s work: 1. AS IMPORTANT AS HOUSING ARE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES. When Skid Row Housing Trust was founded in 1989, we were focused on preserving affordable housing stock in Skid Row. The trust acquired and rehabbed existing single room occupancy (SRO) properties in Skid Row and then rented out the apartments to lowincome individuals. At that time, General Relief was $424 per month, enough for low-income individuals to afford a very modest rent that was sufficient to fund the trust’s ongoing operations. Resident turnover during those early years was extremely high – close to 50 percent annually – and we struggled to retain property management staff that lacked experience serving individuals with mental illness and addiction. By 1992, we recognized that case management services were needed to help our residents stabilize their lives and maintain housing. We hired a handful of case managers to work out of offices at our properties, and we partnered with a number of community-based organizations to which our case managers would refer residents for benefits advocacy, mental healthcare, and other services.

2. MARKET CHANGES CAN BE BOTH THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES. In 1992, General Relief was cut to $221 a month – where it remains today – destabilizing our residents’ primary source of income and making our existing business model insupportable. We secured sponsor-based Shelter Plus Care (SPC) rental subsidies in massive quantities as a way to quickly fix our operating deficit and to allow prospective residents to be able to afford our housing. The SPC subsidy required that we provide a matching level of supportive services to our residents, which triggered a lot of strategic thinking among our staff and leadership about the root causes of homelessness and the services beyond case management that were needed to prevent and end homelessness. This pivotal moment was a serious threat to our bottom line but ended up catalyzing our efforts to heighten supportive services at our properties.

3. THERE SHOULD BE NO BARRIERS TO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. Skid Row Housing Trust was an early adopter of Housing First, an approach to ending homelessness in which homeless individuals can transition directly into a safe and permanent home with an array of voluntary supportive services without barriers such as mandatory sobriety, treatment, or requirements to complete programs. Research demonstrates that this approach is effective in promoting housing stability, particularly among people who have been homeless for long periods and have serious disabilities or disorders, including addiction.

PREVIOUS PAGE: THE SIX - Tara Wujcik - Courtesy Skid Row Housing Trust ABOVE: STAR APARTMENTS - Iwan Baan - Courtesy Skid Row Housing Trust OPPOSITE: NEW GENESIS APARTMENT - Jim Simmons Courtesy Skid Row Housing Trust

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Architects, and Michael Maltzan Architecture allowed Skid Row Housing Trust to push the barriers of permanent supportive housing design to create neighborhood landmarks and facilitate healing and community both within and beyond a building's walls.

The design of our buildings challenges common perceptions of subsidized housing and allows our residents to escape the labels that so often accompany low-income tenants of housing projects.

Good architecture has elevated the conversation about ending homelessness from a negative perception to an aspirational solution.

5. HOUSING IS HEALTHCARE. In recent years, the local medical community – and in particular the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services – realized that the best prescription they could write for a homeless patient was a referral to supportive housing. In 2013, Skid Row Housing Trust completed Star Apartments, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture specifically to house homeless patients who were high utilizers of the county’s emergency rooms and hospitals and were unable to get well back on the streets. In exchange for housing their homeless patients, DHS agreed to fund on-site case management and other supportive services at Star Apartments to ensure their patients’ long-term stability. Since that time, we have expanded our partnership with DHS to include three of our other properties, and a DHS clinic is housed in one of the Star Apartments commercial spaces to ensure immediate access to care for our residents as well as the homeless residents of Skid Row. ■

4. DESIGN SHOULD BE AT THE HEART OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. Between 1996 and 2003, Skid Row Housing Trust evolved a great deal in its approach to supportive housing development. We shifted our focus from preservation to new construction, with a studio unit typology, and embedded social services and community spaces in each property to encourage positive social interactions and facilitate community building. We encouraged service providers to work on-site at our properties and began to design service spaces where medical, mental health, recovery, benefits, advocacy, and other services could be provided to our residents. Partnering with renowned firmed like Brooks + Scarpa, Killefer Flammang

In 2016, almost 2,000 formerly homeless and low-income individuals called a Skid Row Housing Trust apartment home.

Mike Alvidrez

is a native Angeleon with a Master's degree from UCLA's School of Architecture and Urban Planning. He previously worked for the Community Corporation of Santa Monica and is currently the CEO of Skid Row Housing, a nonprofit that has been preserving, developing, and managing permanent supportive and affordable housing to prevent and end homelessness for more than 25 years.

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RETURNING HOME

DESIGN ADVOCACY FOR WOUNDED WARRIOR & VETERAN HOUSING

BY STEPHEN PARKER

F

ew groups elicit unequivocal support across the nation as the men and women serving in uniform, both past and present.

Even more so for those wounded in combat or contending with debilitating illnesses as veterans. Given the long-term care and housing needs required for many of these wounded warriors, architects can play a critical role as design advocates.

Housing concerns start for the most vulnerable of returning soldiers as they heal. One project that provides a bastion for recovering soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines is Sanctuary Hall, a Wounded Warrior Lodge at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Clark Nexsen, this multifamily building situated on the hospital campus acts as transitional housing for recovering service members and their families. Many are in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), common issues among soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Young architect and associate at SmithGroupJJR Brian Martin, AIA, describes the design as tailored to their recovery and unique circumstances.

“The rooms are designed for multiple support scenarios, allowing families or a group of friends to either go through treatment together or help a buddy in their unit, which is a common occurrence,” says Brian. “Public spaces are welcoming yet visually heavy and solid providing a sense of permanence with abundant natural light.

Throughout the rest of the building, windows are smaller, protective portals in the facade, limiting exposure for recovering patients.

Sensitivity to glare, which could trigger flashbacks, necessitated the use of sunshades and clerestories to diffuse direct light.” As the Military Health System is focused on providing the best care, this includes a more holistic approach, including the role of housing.

Certainty in one's living situation and the knowledge that loved ones are close at hand have a significant impact on health outcomes and reintegration into civilian life. Coupled with the Fisher House

ABOVE: Wounded Warrior Lodge - Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

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network, which provides housing for families of wounded service members, the powerful impact of stable and high-quality housing cannot be underestimated.

A compelling example that combines universal design, aging in place and sensitivity to disabled needs is the Wounded Warrior Homes at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Designed by IDEO and Michael Graves Associates, these single family home prototypes have several options to choose from and are highly customizable to the specific needs of a wounded warrior and his or her family. It’s the thoughtful approach to a bathroom or kitchen that can make all the difference in the day-to-day life of a disabled solider.

Advocating for policy as well as design is an important aspect of this issue, according to Jacob Day, Assoc. AIA, especially as the transition from military service to civilian life is difficult. Without the foundation that the military provided, some recently discharged service members struggle to find firm footing. With proper guidance and support, the veteran homelessness crisis could be greatly diminished and eventually eradicated. As mayor of Salisbury, Maryland and a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Jacob has taken a public stance on ending chronic veteran homelessness in his corner of the country through a mix of funding, city services, and veteran benefits. This is part of a larger VA effort to end chronic veteran homelessness that has been building momentum. The housing first initiative, as pioneered by such states as Utah, has shown that homeless individuals can be stabilized by housing them first and then providing them with treatment in a more economical way to in the long term. The need for stability and what housing advocates call “security of tenure”, is of critical importance. It’s difficult to complete a drug rehab program or treat a chronic disease such as PTSD, TBI, or a myriad of other service-related ailments while living on the streets.

ABOVE: Wounded Warrior Home Project - Courtesy of IDEO / Michael Graves Associates

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Without the foundation that the military provided, some recently discharged service members struggle to find firm footing.

In light of the VA’s effort to end veteran homelessness, a growing and diverse portfolio of housing projects has been developed across the nation. A recent project by Sorg Architects in Washington D.C., the John and Jill Ker Conway Residence, is one such project that united a diverse range of government and non-profit groups with a compelling design. Not to be outdone, Los Angeles is combating veteran homeless with a design by Brooks+Scarpa called “SIX.” Named for the phrase “I’ve got your six,” the building provides more than just cover for recovering veterans. According to aspiring architect and SIX designer/project manager Diane Thepkhounphithack, the building provides not only shelter but treatment and a sense of community for veterans experiencing homelessness. Funded by the Skid Row Housing Trust as its first veteran-specific project, the spaces strives to connect with the neighborhood while providing a protective bastion amongst the hustle of America’s second largest city.

Another innovative solution taking its cues from “cargotecture” is Potter’s Lane, designed by SVA Architects in Los Angeles, California. Constructed of stacked containers, this project is far removed from similar housing the U.S. military fields abroad.

According to SVA’s senior associate partner, Paul Zaleski, Assoc.

AIA. “The building blocks of Potter’s Lane are modified steel shipping containers; we paid special attention to the project’s planning, organization, and aesthetics to ensure that the design offers a residential quality to the neighborhood and surrounding environment,” as Paul enthusiastically described. “From a planning organization perspective, each of the 16 units is configured around a central, private courtyard, envisioned as the ‘life’ of the building for veterans. The courtyard has amenities for learning and socialization, and provides a place for the residents to interact and build a sense of community. It’s all about creating a place of quality

ABOVE: John and Jill Ker Conway Residence - Courtesy of Sorg Architects ABOVE, RIGHT: Potter's Lane - Courtesy of SVA Architects

for our veterans and a place they can call home!” This growing portfolio of wounded warrior and veteran housing projects has evolved immensely in recent years and young architects play a compelling role as design advocates for this vulnerable population.

Housing needs extend well into the later stages of life, and the VA has an extensive portfolio of senior living communities. As part of a larger effort to holistically design for aging in place and continuum of care, the VA has raised the bar for its senior living projects.

Recently, the VA’s Small House Model design guide solidified best practices for future projects according to SmithGroupJJR principal and young architect Alexis Denton, AIA. She is advocating for dignified design for our aging veterans, combating loneliness, boredom, and helplessness, known as the three plagues of the elderly. One of the unique aspects of veterans from other senior populations is their sense of camaraderie and shared service, so more communal spaces are appropriate. For young architects, there are opportunities to push the standards for senior housing design and care of our veterans.

Beyond conventional practice, young architects can advocate at the local level and provide their design services to a host of organizations supporting housing remodeling and renovations. What better way to take the lead in one’s community than to advocate for action and thoughtful design for disabled veterans? Brian Martin, AIA, has taken this heart and has been working with Warrior Canine Connections on their new training farm in Germantown, MD, where recovering veterans are trained in canine therapy. This growing trend of wounded warrior and veteran housing is a compelling chance for young architects to advocate through design, design that will have a profound and meaningful impact for generations to come. ■

Stephen Parker, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C Since 2014, Stephen has been an architect with SmithGroupJJR in Washington, D.C. His passion for design, the profession, and the people it impacts has been a lifelong affair. He is currently the advocacy director for AIA National’s Young Architects Forum and co-founder of AIA's National Design Services Act Coalition.

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UHÜ - URBAN HOUSING UNIT

BY ADDISON GODINE

Addison Godine Addison is a designer and builder. His latest project, the uhü, is a compact apartment on wheels that traveled to different neighborhoods around Boston, sparking conversations about people's housing wants and needs in the 21st century. Addison founded a company called livelight around the uhü project, with a mission of creating tech-enabled, energy-efficient multifamily buildings that working people can afford.

In previous jobs, Addison has designed tiny houses, overseen off-grid development projects, and led a Solar Decathlon team.

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oston, MA, a city of about 650,000, is in the midst of a residential construction boom. In 2013, the mayor's office issued a call for developers to build 53,000 new housing units by 2030, and already over 40,000 units have been planned, approved for construction, or built. By some estimates, 80% of these new units are or will be luxury units. Add this to a healthy stock of "capital A" affordable housing, and you have a city that is excellent at housing its low- and high-income residents but less and less able to house its workforce: people working in such industries as law enforcement, nursing, food service, construction, and others. We call this gap "the missing middle."

Enter the Housing Innovation Lab. "The HIL was created to serve the needs of Boston’s current and future residents, by pioneering innovative housing models and systems, as well as accelerating the pace of innovation in the housing sector." A mayoral department, HIL works closely with the city Department of Neighborhood Development and the Boston Planning and Development Agency, and has taken on "the missing middle" as one of its charges.

Toward the end of 2015, Tamara Roy approached the HIL with an idea. Roy was the president of the Boston Society of Architects at the time and a principal designer at Stantec, a multinational architecture firm. One of Roy's passions is small, efficiently designed urban spaces, but because of Boston's existing zoning codes, she knew they were difficult to build. The promise of these smaller spaces is that they can be built and rented or sold for less money - not on a per-square foot basis, but on a per-unit basis. They could be part of the solution for housing the workforce.

change the rules on sizes, best to do it from the ground up rather than the top down. Roy knew from her professional experience that it was possible to design a comfortable 350sf apartment, but that most people had preconceived notions about what a space that small would feel like. The HIL liked the idea and issued a request for proposals.

Some background on unit sizes: the zoning code in Boston mandates minimum square footages for various apartment types.

450sf for a studio, 625sf for a one-bedroom, 850sf for a twobedroom, etc. These are well above what the Health and Safety code mandates: 150sf minimum for one person and an additional 100sf for each additional person living in the space. This part of the zoning code comes from tenement housing days, when families were larger, spaces were heated with air-polluting coal stoves, windows were small, and clothes dried by hanging from the ceiling.

Photographs from the time suggest that these rules were sensible.

But today, 67% of Boston households are one and two people, and technology has improved the way we heat, cool, ventilate, and live in our urban apartments. Yet the code has remained unchanged, sparking Roy's idea.

My company, livelight, submitted a proposal and was awarded the project. Our background was in tiny house design and construction, so we had some experience in this arena. Roy helped design the unit, and livelight scrambled to find a builder to meet the tight deadline. Luckily, we quickly found a partner in Mod-Tech homes, a modular home turnkey solutions company in Marshfield, MA. Mod-Tech connected us to PennKraft Building Systems, a modular home-builder in Knox, PA. After some design back and forth, all Roy's idea was to build a real, functioning model of a compact parties agreed to move ahead with the project, I drove out to Knox apartment, and bring it to neighborhoods around the city to start a to oversee the first week of construction on what we had by then conversation about living in smaller spaces. If Boston was going to agreed to call the "uhü" (urban housing unit).

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Housing Innovation Lab was created to serve the needs of Boston’s current and future residents, by pioneering innovative housing models and systems.

ABOVE, TOP: Uhü was first exhibited in Boston. - Courtesy of LiveLight

ABOVE: The uhü demonstration project was made with translucent polycarbonate cladding. - Courtesy of LiveLight

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Modular builders can be flexible, but only if variations from the routine are communicated clearly and often. oppose units like it in their neighborhoods. A lot of what we heard was, "Wow, this is only 385 square feet? It feels so much bigger!

I could do this," or, "My son or daughter would love this," or, "This would be great for my elderly mother or father."

Knox is a small town just off Route 80, about an hour and a half north of Pittsburgh. PennKraft appeared to be the biggest business in town, employing around 60 men and women, mostly full-time. A criticism often leveled against modular construction companies is that they don't pay their workers enough; however, given that these facilities are usually in rural areas, the cost of living is much lower.

Everyone seemed to be doing OK, from what I could tell.

After East Boston, uhü returned to downtown Boston to be part of the BSA's Exhibition on Compact Living, which showcased small, efficient living spaces from around the world. A month later, uhü traveled to District Hall, a building and non-profit in the Seaport District dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation. In these two locations, uhü saw about 1,500 more visitors, with similarly positive things to say. uhü had, it seemed, fulfilled its mission to start a conversation, and that conversation was largely approving.

The PennKraft facility is long and skinny, with a single assembly line that starts at one end of the building with floor framing, and terminates at the far end of the building with kitchen cabinet installation. There are about twelve "stations" in between, each with a specific purpose and outfitted with the necessary tools, supplies, and equipment. PennKraft's primary business is building single family homes comprising four or six "boxes" - usually 13'10" wide by 50-60' long - that fit together and, when finished, are largely indistinguishable from conventionally built homes. The uhü dimensions were to be 13'10" by 33'4".

The next step is for HIL and others to work on moving forward on changing the zoning code, if not for all of Boston then for certain areas in the city. There is a clear demand for smaller, more affordable units, especially among young people and seniors, but it is unnecessarily difficult to meet.

The primary advantage of modular builders is in speed: because of the efficiency in how they build, they can produce buildings faster than onsite builders, and that can save developers thousands in taxes, interest payments, and general conditions costs. PennKraft produces between five and seven boxes per week. The pressure to keep the line moving created a noticeable sense of urgency in the assembly teams, and it was impressive to witness how quickly everyone moved.

As for uhü, it is currently parked at a shipyard in Chelsea, with plans to become a houseboat. Stay tuned. ■

As PennKraft knew when they signed up, the uhü was unconventional in a many ways, and this required some accommodations that we were all glad, in the end, that they made. The takeaway was that modular builders can be flexible, but only if variations from the routine are communicated clearly and often. I felt I had made the right choice to be present so I could explain things as they came up.

When I left PennKraft, uhü's systems were all in, and insulation was about to go in. A week or two later, uhü arrived in Marshfield, MA, largely finished. Three weeks later, it was complete, and delivered to City Hall Plaza in Boston, the first stop on the "Compact Living Roadshow."

From City Hall, uhü traveled to Roslindale, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, and East Boston, all city neighborhoods, with the HIL. One of Tamara's colleagues at Stantec, Aeron Hodges, organized a methodology for gathering feedback with her "What's In?" team and collected data from over 2,000 visitors. The comments were overwhelmingly positive, with just 2% of people saying that would ABOVE: Uhü is only 385 square feet, but the compact design makes it feel so much bigger. - Courtesy LiveLight

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uhü saw about 1,500 more visitors, with similarly positive things to say. uhü had, it seemed, fulfilled its mission to start a conversation.

ABOVE, TOP: Because of the efficiency in how they build, modular builders can produce buildings faster than onsite builders.

- Courtesy of LiveLight

ABOVE: The living room in uhü is furnished with a couch that can double as a bed, whereas the bedroom has a privacy curtain. - Courtesy LivesLight

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BAUGRUPPEN

FROM TINY HOUSES TO DOWNTOWN LIVING FOR THE YOUTHFULLY OLD, THE HOME IS BEING RECONSIDERED.

BY FRANCES ANDERTON

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he world’s cultural and economic capitals are becoming more crowded and costly at the same time as changes in the family structure mean the standard 2,000-plus square feet single family home simply does not suit growing numbers of singles, aging boomers, and non-traditional families.

an efficient and very elegant design that wound up costing, including shared space, around $250 per square foot.

Verena von Beckerath, co-principal of Heide & Von Beckerath,

So growing numbers of people are asking, "How do we want to live, and can we find affordable ways to realize it?" One idea that has gained traction in Germany is Baugruppen (building groups), an intriguing solution to both challenges. These are collectivelybuilt residential complexes in which individuals own their own units but share common spaces. The goal is to save costs by cutting out the developer while determining one's living needs, and, notes Shareable, “they fall somewhere between a communal home and a condo association” but “become whatever each group needs and wants from their housing project. One group may develop standalone units situated around a common space; another group might prefer a single building divvied up to fit their needs.”

It’s estimated that several hundred of these Baugruppen, also known as Baugemeinschaften been built over the last 15 years, dating from the time the city’s famed low rents began to soar as property in post-Wall Berlin exploded in popularity.

Baugruppen are a means to co-exist with “your peer group,” says art and architecture writer Andreas Toelke, adding that “one of the first movements of this was gay people coming together” and trying to build a shared environment for retirement.

Even though the process of co-creating a residence can be long and arduous -- from securing the loans for all co-owners to collectively developing the design -- one of the benefits is the feeling that “it’s our project and we all feel responsible for it.”

The numbers of participants in a Baugruppe can range from a few households to hundreds. They are sometimes initiated by a group of homeowners who then bring in an architect, and sometimes by architects who see in Baugruppen an opportunity to develop their own projects. Among the many Berlin architects involved in co-owning or designing Baugruppen are Graft and Juergen Mayer. One of the notable examples of Baugruppen is R50, a sixstory block located within tower blocks in the more working-class, suburban end of Berlin’s now trendy Kreuzberg neighborhood.

R50, named for its address, Ritterstrasse 50, was developed and designed by architectural firms Heide & Von Beckerath and ifau, the "institute for applied urbanism," and Jesko Fezer. It has six floors with three units on each floor, as well as a shared roof terrace, large communal room in the basement, and yard for 19 households. The designers spent one and a half years meeting with fellow buyers every two weeks (all crowding into their cramped office, recalls Christoph Schmidt, a principal at ifau) and arrived at

explained that she and her colleagues felt they were tackling two problems: “how to do affordable housing and - as a parallel development - how to do customized housing... not to raise the value of the house but to give people who want to stay in the city an idea of how to adapt the apartment to their own needs.” They achieved all this through an efficient and economical combination of reinforced concrete skeleton structure, partly exposed infrastructure, and a modular timber facade with custom-designed fixed and flexible glass doors. They kept fancy detailing to a minimum -- the units feature raw spruce paneling and exposed concrete. The result is 19 spacious-feeling units that serve as tasteful blank slates for their inhabitants.

R50’s success depends as much on the design as on the social

ABOVE: R50 - Exterior - Courtesy Andrew Alberts 54

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relationships. Does the group of households that chose to co-exist still get along? For how many is the Baugruppe a commitment to collective living? And how many chose to leave and sell their units, and what does that do to the ecosystem? The project was finished four years ago, so it is still relatively early days for the residents.

But the architects report that households are getting along well and discussions continue regarding many aspects of living there, including ideas for engaging further with their neighbors, the longtime, less affluent renters living in the surrounding towers.

Now that people live here,” says Verena von Beckerath, “and we see the children grow up, we see that the architecture project and the lives of its inhabitants really work in a very nice way. It’s not that the project is not finished, but it has a certain character or ability to adapt to future lives, and that’s what I think is really

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to apply the experience to multifamily, rental housing: “We learned from the users, we learned a lot from this negotiation process, and we hope that we can introduce these ideas also into a more anonymous context of social housing.”

For Baugruppen to make sense costs, have to be kept down, and as Berlin’s land rises in price, this becomes trickier. Up until recently, it was possible to keep costs relatively low because the City of Berlin gave developers of Baugruppen help to keep the land affordable.

Von Beckerath explained that the city offers the land to Baugruppen in a bidding process based not on price but on the quality of their residential concept. Then it holds the land for them at a stable price while the group seeks partners and raises funds.

Von Beckerath says that “this part of the foundation of a Baugruppe is very critical” because Baugruppen usually have the problem that forming a group and bidding for a plot at the same time is almost impossible. But given the heat on the Berlin property market and the appeal of the R50 flats, what happens if an owner decides to sell? Is there a limit on how much they can sell it for? Does the collective have to approve the the new buyer?”

She says that Baugruppen don’t set down resale price limits or right of collective approval -- unlike coops. But she says the individual owners of R50 are currently working on a manifesto which is “based on trust.” All of this gives an idealistic feeling to the movement, prompting a question: are Baugruppen-type complexes possible anywhere, or are they particular to Berlin’s particular history and culture?

interesting about it. We love it.” Now Heide & Von Beckerath and ifau are working on an ambitious Baugruppe project at the site of the former central flower market in Kreuzberg. To be completed this year, “Integratives Bauprojekt Ehemaligen Blumengrossmarkt” comprises almost 100 owner-occuped artist workshops and apartments, cooperative housing, and studios, as well as spaces for communal activities and small businesses. The Baugruppen owners have jointly developed what the architects describe as the project’s “spatial and social focus” and have placed emphasis on public and semi-public connections to a neighborhood defined by post-war buildings.

In addition, they are involved in a new Baugruppen project with 55 units in Fürth, Germany. Christoph Schmidt adds that he hopes

America has had its own tradition of utopian living but the single family home owned by a single family so dominates zoning codes and the thinking of risk-averse banks that creating alternatives is a challenge.

Cooperative housing has its roots in the Berlin of a century ago, but it took off in the 1970s and 80s when counter-culture Berliners squatted houses and, says von Beckerath, "really wanted to live together and create their own collective lifestyle."

One person who believes it might be possible is Rick Corsini, principal at Corsini Stark Architects in Los Angeles. While his own firm has explored ways in which to build relatively affordable homes in pricey neighborhoods through small lot subdivision (such as Perlita Mews in Atwater Village, shown below), he has an even closer connection to the cohousing topic: he has spent over 20

ABOVE: Domino House - Inspired open plan coupled with low-cost materials allow for customized layouts for each unit.

Outward-opening glazed doors bring in light and allow access to the perimeter balcony - Courtesy Andrew Alberts Q1 -2017

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and the Dunsmuir Flats, designed a ten-unit housing cooperative with private gardens and flexible interior space. The houses were designed to fit families of four and proved so flexible that the residents stayed decades, with the last of the original couples, Carl and Dorothy Brant, remaining through to their recent deaths at 100.

Corsini points out that, while "ideology partially drove" their desire for cooperative housing, so did practicality -- they were middle-class families wanting to use their resources as efficiently as possible to build better housing for themselves, and in doing so, they were able "to break the formula of developer built housing." He also says that, despite a shared value system, they argued "about every little thing like everybody else does"-- from who should pay for fixing the roofs to responsibility for taking out the trash. Such quibbling, he says, "is a pan-human issue."

Despite quibbles, the design of the house was able to work, through its "inherent flexibility and its architectural characteristics" to serve several generations.

There was no issue, says Rick, "of having a starter house, moving up to a bigger house, moving to an empty nest, and then figuring out what to do after that.

The type and value system of the original clients really prevailed through their life." With the passing of all the original owneroccupiers, that value system also passed, and Avenel became a condominium. Corsini took up residence in 1993, and spent the next ten years restoring it with fellow resident Gordon Olschlager.

Now Avenel Homes is one of three post-war Modernist buildings in Los Angeles listed on the National Register. years living in Gregory Ain's famed Avenel Homes, a cooperative housing development in Silver Lake that he also helped restore.

Avenel was created in the late 1940s by a group of ten families, all communists and leaders in the union movement, who brought on board Gregory Ain, a much-admired Modernist architect described by critic and fellow progressive Esther McCoy as "an idealist who gave the better part of ten years to combatting outmoded planning and building codes, and hoary real estate practices." (Ain was blacklisted in 1949 for his socialist -- not communist, reminds Rick -- beliefs, and as a result was not included in the Case Study program.)

Avenel was conceived, like Ain's other residential projects, for lower- or middle-class families and, like countless post-war housing developments in the U.S., was financed through the Federal Housing Administration. So its example demands an answer: can lower or middle class families today achieve anything akin to Avenel in Los Angeles, or are they priced out completely? If people are prepared to look "where noone else is looking," says Rick Corsini, -

Ain, whose residential projects include the noted Mar Vista Tract ABOVE: GROUP EATING - R50 residents own their units but come together in the communal basement room for various shared activities - Courtesy Andrew Alberts

Frances Anderton

is host of DnA: Design and Architecture, a weekly radio show broadcast on KCRW NPR station in Los Angeles. In addition to her radio work, Anderton is a curator, public speaker, and writer on architecture and design. She has served as L.A. correspondent for the New York Times and for Dwell magazine.

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HOUSING DESIGN IN HONG KONG

SEARCHING FOR AFFORDABILITY IN THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY

BY VIKKI LEW

Anderson Lee, AIA, HKIA Anderson founded Index Architecture Limited in 2000. The practice has received multiple design awards from AIA Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, and Perspective magazine. Anderson is program director of the University of Hong Kong Shanghai Program. A graduate of Michigan and Princeton, he is a Registered Architect in Hong Kong and the State of New York. Anderson is vice president/ president-elect 2018 of AIA Hong Kong.

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hree years ago, a youth protest broke out in Hong Kong named the Umbrella Movement, when thousands of youth camping in tents occupied major thoroughfares of the city for almost three months. Though it started as a political movement, the protest brought public attention to the wealth gap – most exemplified by housing unaffordability – in this metropolis1. While housing affordability is a common social economic issue in urban region, Hong Kong has the highest price-income ratio among all major cities in the world2. It takes an average household almost 35 years of income in Hong Kong, compared to 17 years in New York, to purchase a 90 sq.ft. apartment. The city of seven million is also one of the most compact in the world. Its densest neighborhood, Kwun Tong, has a density of 55,000 per sq.km., compared with 17,180 residents per sq.mi. in San Francisco and 27,715 in New York.3,4

and represents a separate economic strata. In the pre-war years, the government adopted a non-intervening approach to low-income housing. Public housing serving low-income households only emerged in the 1950s when three millions refugees arrived from civil wars in China and created a housing shortage. A majority of refugees lived in unhygienic squalor around hillsides4. Constructed of wood and sheet metal, this makeshift housing were intended for temporary use and lack basic amenities such as kitchen and sanitary facilities.5 A pivotal tragedy occurred on Christmas Eve of 1953 when a fire raged through the squatters in an area named Shek Kip Mei and left 53,000 people homeless overnight. Two government divisions were formed. The Provisional Resettlement Department, was created for the resettlement of fire victims, while the Department of Public Work was formed to address the longterm need of welfare housing for the low-income population.

Inception of Housing Policy

Design for Affordable Housing

Boasting a unique skyline packed with high-rise buildings, Hong The immediate emergency settlements were two-story bungalows Kong’s public housing provides a very different architectural scene built on the same site a year after the fatal fire. The first public

ABOVE LEFT: SQUATTER HOUSING - Temporary housing in the 1950s of Hong Kong - Courtesy Hong Kong Housing Authority ABOVE RIGHT: UMBRELLA REVOLUTION - Thousands of Hong Kong young people protested by camping in tents and blocking major roads of Hong Kong during fall 2014 - Courtesy Vikki Lew

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ABOVE: SMALL SHOPS - Housing estates as mixed-use community Courtesy Wikimedia Common

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Building tall was intended to accommodate more people within limited buildable land. housing project opened three years later in 1957, consisting of eight six-story concrete-block buildings. Called "H-block," the building is formed by two parallel long blocks connected by a corridor. Units were aligned on one side of the long corridor, while the other side was open to the air. The units are rental single rooms serving the fundamental needs of sleeping and living. Functions such as washrooms, kitchens, and laundry are located in communal areas of the floor. Though intended to provide 24 sq.ft. (2.2 sq.m.) for each adult, the units typically cramped an entire family. Doubledeck bunkers are common furniture to vertically utilize the space.5,6 The emphasis on building tall for affordable housing was intended to accommodate more people within limited buildable land. These prototypes of affordable public housing blocks were modified with amenities and building infrastructure in subsequent years.

As construction methods matured, housing blocks commonly rose to sixteen to twenty stories. Buildings evolved from simple blocks into more complex layouts, such as T- or crucible-shape, providing variety in circulation, height, and orientation.7 For instance, Oi Man Estate, built in the mid-1970s on an original site of squatter housing, consists of twelve blocks. Flat sizes range from 33.254.9 sq.m. (357- 591 sq.ft.). The single-room prototype evolved into subdivided rooms, with a utility balcony that also enters the bathroom. It was one of the early self-contained estates with restaurants, grocery stores, wet market, post office, schools, bus terminal, and community facilities.8,9 Design for Housing Affordability As of the 1980s, the population living in public housing reached two million, almost one-third of the territoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total population.

However, the policy remained inadequate to fulfill the demand for affordable housing in Hong Kong to this day. According to 2015

government data, about 22.12 million people, or 29% of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population, lived in public rental housing, in about 782,700 units.8 A major flaw of the system is that allocation is not need-based but prioritizes the elderly. Home ownership became increasingly challenging for the younger generation. Cheating is common, as elderly parents would join in the application but not move in when allocated the apartments. While the policy loopholes are generally acknowledged, the government reasoned that improvement requires resources and is thus infeasible.8 Parallel to the consistently inadequate supply to meet the affordable public housing demand, the spiraling real estate prices in Hong Kong created a market for small, compact units in private housing. These projects serve the housing needs of those at a comparatively higher income level but who cannot afford pricey homes. Paradoxically, these small homes created an opportunity for architects to come up with designs that can fully utilize the limited floor area and are pleasant to live in.

Anderson Lee, AIA, a New York-licensed architect and founder of Index Architecture, designed a micro-apartment highrise as early as a decade ago. The project, called "V CWB," is located in Causeway Bay, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It is a 16-story serviced apartment with over 135 units. The project investigated the idea of individuality within collective living. Lee's design solution proposed over 53 variations in layout and design for all 135 units. There are around eight to nine units per floor, and the average room size ranged from 20 sq.m. to 60 sq.m., with three unique roof top units of 120 sq.m. Emphasizing individuality instead of conformance, there are no typical rooms.9 The design concept is based on the Tetris game, with spaces fit within straight-forward post-and-beam concrete structures. Units with semi outdoor balconies are strategically placed at locations to animate the façade to achieve maximum marketing effects. Indoors, furniture is part of the design strategy for meeting the residents' functional needs. Lee designed an all-in-one kitchenette, in which a 3m-wide cabinet houses a TV, ironing board, washer/dryer, writing desk, luggage storage, sink, kitchen equipment, and refrigerator.9 Lee's early-wave transformable micro-apartment project was completed in 2008. The demand for small, compact units has become a global phenomenon. The first micro-apartment building in New York City debuted in 2015, with units ranging from 260 to 360 sq.ft. In comparison, the smallest micro-apartment in Hong Kong measured only 128 sq.ft. (12 sq.m.).10 Currently, there is

ABOVE: H-BLOCK - An early prototype of public housing refurbished into a youth hostel in Hong Kong - Courtesy Hong Kong Heritage's Office

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The design concept is based on the Tetris game, with spaces fit within post-and-beam structures.

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no policy in Hong Kong regulating the smallest permissible floor area of private housing, whether by total floor area or floor area per resident. At times, beyond the architect’s control, developers are building units of smaller floor area though with compatible price per unit of area.11 While affordability poses an intriguing design challenge, it is only conscientious for us, as architects, to ask what kind of living environment we design for. ■ Reference 1. Chan, L. (2014) Beyond the Umbrella Movement: Hong Kong's Struggle with Inequality In 8 Charts.

Retrieved at http://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2014/10/08/beyond-the-umbrella-revolutionhong-kongs-struggle-with-inequality-in-8-charts/#6c42593450b6 2. Ujikane, K. (2017) Hong Kong and Mumbai Have Some of the Most Unaffordable Housing.

Retrieved at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-17/hong-kong-and-mumbai-havesome-of-the-most-unaffordable-housing 3. Hong Kong Census (2011). Population Density by District Council District, 2001, 2006 and 2011.

Retrieved at http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/main-table/A202.html 4. Governing.com (2010). Population Density for U.S. Cities Map. Retrieved at http://www. governing.com/gov-data/population-density-land-area-cities-map.html 5. Hong Kong Memory. (2012). Land Squatters. Retrieved at http://www.hkmemory.hk/collections/ public_housing/land_squatters/index.html 6. Hong Kong Heritage Museum. (n.d.) Memories of Home – 50 Years of Public Housing in Hong Kong. Retrieved at http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/documents/2199315/2199693/Public_ Housing-E.pdf 7. Xue, C.Q.(2016) Hong Kong Architecture 1945-2015: From Colonial to Global. Singapore: Springer.

8. South China Morning Post. (2017). Micro-apartment. Retrieved at http://www.scmp.com/ magazines/post-magazine/topics/micro-apartments 9. Index Architecture. (2012). V CWB. Retreived Feb 2017 at http://www.indexarchitecture.com 10.

Shutler, N. (2015, Feb). Home Shrunken Home. Retrieved at https://www.nytimes. com/2015/02/22/realestate/micro-apartments-tiny-homes-prefabricated-in-brooklyn.html?_r=0 11. JLL (2015).Demand grows for Asia’s shrinking apartments. Retrieved at http://www.jllrealviews.

TOP & OPPOSITE: TETRIS CONCEPT - Lee's design concept for the micro-apartment project V CWB is based on the Tetris game, with units fit into post-and-beam concrete structures.

- Courtesy Anderson Lee / Index Architecture

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ABOVE: All-IN-ONE-KITCHENETTE - a 3m-wide cabinet houses a TV, ironing board, washer/dryer, writing desk, luggage storage, sink, kitchen equipment, and refrigerator.

- Courtesy Anderson Lee / Index Architecture

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Vikki Lew, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP, EDAC

Vikki began her architectural career in San Francisco and started practicing internationally in 2006. Her diverse portfolio includes healthcare, university, residential, financial institute, retail, mixed-use, super-highrise, and master planning.

She is a Board member of AIA Hong Kong.

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DESIGNING IN "CITIES OF REPETITION"

BY VIKKI LEW

Jason Carlow, Associate AIA Jason Carlow is an award-winning designer and educator. His research and teaching centered on the relationship between digital and traditional modes of drawing, modeling, and fabrication. This work has focused on using digitally driven production as a lens to investigate building typologies, building component systems, and compact interior spaces. After a decade of teaching in the MArch program at the University of Hong Kong, Jason is now a faculty member at the American University of Sharjah.

Prefabrication and standardization are ubiquitous in the construction of housing estates in Hong Kong. During the population boom of the 1950s and 60s, the construction of public housing fulfilled the primary need of housing a large number of people within a short period at a low cost. Photographers such as Michael Wolf and Peter Stewart documented the repetitiveness of concrete block estates in one of the world’s densest urban living environments.1,2 Intended as fine-arts photography projects, the rows and columns of residential prefab modules captured in their work depicted an architectural language of a congested and impenetrable urban environment.

The image that these photos conjure contrasts significantly from the glass and steel office highrises that created the city’s famous skyline.

Low-Tech Solution As Hong Kong economy has improved, attempts were made to create a more vibrant, variable appearance for the repetitive façade components. An early decision in the 1960s was made to use color to differentiate the concrete blocks. The prefabricated

components are still the same, but they are differentiated by colors, most commonly with colors in similar tones applied to plaster walls.

A more exceptional case is Choi Hung Estate. Literally translated as Rainbow Estate, the estate was one of the first experiments that utilized multiple hues on the façade. The estate houses a population of 18,500 in 11 20-story blocks.3,4 Built in concrete frames, the components display subtle variations of window and opaque wall compositions. Collectively, the colorful blocks create an uplifting look for low-income housing. This low-cost strategy of using color to enliven the public realm was well-received and led more housing projects to utilize color as a design strategy.

Given the historical, social, and economic context, the housing estates in Hong Kong provide an intriguing challenge for architects.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority maintains a web resource for typical housing block designs. Take, for example, a typology called “harmony block” that has been popular since its inception in the 1980s. In this typology, four or five units form a wing of the cruciform floor layout. At the intersections are lift cores and fire stairs, with

ABOVE: CHOI HUNG ESTATE - The housing estate was one of early experiments in creating a more vibrant environment in Hong Kong - Courtesy Wikimedia Common

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ABOVE: CHOI HUNG ESTATE - Prefabrication facade units with slight variation in composition - Courtesy Wikimedia Common

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Given the social and economic context, housing estates provide an intriguing challenge for architects in Hong Kong. fire doors within code-compliant travel distance. In total, each floor accommodates 16 to 20 units. In the unit layout, kitchens or bathrooms are back-to-back to eliminate extensive plumbing.

Unit entrances are arranged door-to-door along the corridor. The modular layout accommodates three to four unit variations on each floor.3,4 Research & Development The housing units and estates in existence provide a vast quantity of data for design research. As a faculty member in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, Jason Carlow, Assoc. AIA, together with his colleague Christian J. Lange, have led extensive research on housing design in Hong Kong. Combining graphic and statistical analysis, their research examines how the design of privately developed, collective housing evolved to meet local code requirements while producing significant profits for the developers. Lange and Carlow's research has been exhibited in Hong Kong and Shanghai and will be published in a co-authored book, Cities of Repetition, available later this year.5-8 Building on a thorough understanding of the dense urban living environment, Carlow further explored the idea of living in a condensed environment. His concept design, Hong Kong SingleOccupancy Strip, was a winner of the AIA Hong Kong Honor Award in the Unbuilt Projects category in 2014.9 Carlow's proposal is a response to the shrinking size and growing cost of the average apartment in Hong Kong. The design advances single-occupancy capsule units but instead of individual units, different functions such as sleeping and living areas of facilities like bathrooms and kitchens are arranged linearly. Compared to the cramped units common in the city, the design solution is more durable and more habitable.

ABOVE: CITIES OF REPETITION - The research led by Jason Carlow and Christian Lange from the University of Hong Kong was exhibited in Shanghai in 2015. - Courtesy HKU - Faculty of Architecture

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The conventional practice of floor layouts was adapted to contemporary thinking and design processes. Instead of arranging the capsules in clusters as in conventional local housing, Carlow's design arranged the units linearly The line of units fcan be rearranged to create different floor layouts. Depending on the capsules and floor layouts, an interior-exterior relation is established. On the building facade, the bay window, a component ubiquitous in local estates, is re-designed through a parametric process, linking the window heights, angles, projections, depths, or views to the interior layout.9 Prefabrication is not limited to affordable housing projects in the local building. For instance, the city’s iconic buildings such as the HSBC Headquarters and Chek Lap Kok Airport both employed prefab, factory-finished modules to meet ambitious design goals and a tight construction schedules. The local government housing department widely adopts prefabricated components including façades, stair flights, and semi-precast concrete floor slabs. The prefabrication process is an integral aspect for architects and designers to embedd new ideas into housing design.

Carlow has recently relocated from Hong Kong to the United Arab Emirates. He is currently an assistant professor at the American University of Sharjah, where he continues his research on high-rise, high-density housing typology. Working globally, his research and design work demonstrates that, with rigorous thinking, it is possible for architects to break free of the monotony of housing design and create interesting living spaces even if the solutions might not be apparent at first glance. ■

Reference 1. Michael Wolf Photography. (n.d.) Architecture of Density. Retrieved Jan 2017 at http://photomichael wolf.com/#night/1 2. Peter Stewart Photography. (n.d.) Stacked: Urban Architecture of Hong Kong. Retrieved Jan 2017 at http://www.peterstewartphotography.com/Portfolio/Stacked-Hong-Kong 3. Hong Kong Housing Authority. (2012). Public Housing Development. Retrieved Jan 2017 at https:// www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/about-us/public-housing-heritage/public-housing-development/ index.html 4. Hong Kong Housing Authority. (2012). Estate Locator: Choi Hung Estate, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon East. Retrieved Jan 2017 at http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/global-elements/estate-locator/ index.html 5. Cities of Repetition. (2014). Cities of Repetition – Hong Kong Private Housing Estates. Retrieved Jan 2017 at https://citiesofrepetition.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/cities-of-repetition-hong-kongprivate-housing-estates/ 6. HKU Urban Lab. (2015) Cities of Repetition: Hong Kong’s Private Housing Estates. Retrieved Jan 2017 at http://www.arch.hku.hk/event_/cities-of-repetition-hong-kongs-private-housing-estates/ 7. Hong Kong University, Faculty of Architecture. (2015) Cities of Repetition: Hong Kong's Private Housing Estates | HKU Faculty of Architecture. http://www.arch.hku.hk/media/upload/CODEplanometric_900x1221-thumb.jpg 8. Lang, C. (2015). Cities of Repetition -- Hong Kong’s Private Housing Estates. Retrieved Jan 2017 at rocker-lange blog, http://rocker-lange.com/blog/?p=1430 9. Carlow Architecture & Design Ltd. (2014). Honors & Awards 2014. HK:SOS Hong Kong Single Occupancy Strip by Carlow Architecture & Design Ltd. Retrieved Jan 2017 at AIA Hong Kong Website http://www.aiahk.org/portfolio-item/hksos-hong-kong-single-occupancy-strip-by-carlow-architecturedesign-ltd/

ABOVE: Single Occupancy Strip - The HKSOS design proposal by Jason Carlow and his firm Carlow Architecture & Design, (C:A+D) explores micro-apartment units laid out along a linear strip - Courtesy Carlow Architecture & Design (C:A+D)

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ABOVE: Carlow's SOS imagines using parametrics to relate facade design to the interior layout of each units Courtesy Carlow Architecture & Design (C:A+D)

SHELTERING

Vikki Lew, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP, EDAC

Vikki began her architectural career in San Francisco and started practicing internationally in 2006. Her diverse portfolio includes healthcare, university, residential, financial institute, retail, mixed-use, super-highrise, and master planning.

She is a Board member of AIA Hong Kong.

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN EUROPE

BY DORIS ANDONI & BARDHYL RAMA

T

end of the 1980s, as a result of a general decrease in the level of new housing construction, a number of countries faced housing shortages and insufficient supply of affordable housing for the less well-off.18 The global financial and economic crisis that hit Europe have eroded the ability of households to afford housing in the market. Policy instruments used at the beginning of the 1990s to stimulate home-ownership opened the possibility for low-income families to enter the mortgage market. A great number of families were left homeless because evictions took place after the crash of the financial system. Unemployment increased poverty and made housing in Europe more unaffordable not only for low-income but for average-income familie, too.

he massive rural urban migration, as a result of the industrialization and urbanization in the mid-19th century, caused unsatisfactory living conditions and overpopulated areas in many cities, as well as social problems and adverse effects on the work force. By the end of the 19th century, some cities in the United Kingdom were facing severe problems of poor housing conditions, such as overcrowding, dark and unsanitary courts, and lack of facilities and natural light.17 This urged different responses from employers who started providing housing for their workers and the philanthropists who provided newly built housing, thus creating acceptable living conditions.1 At that time, the state governments were not involved in housing provision. Nevertheless, governments slowly started to take an increasing role. For example, in the United Kingdom, the private sector was deemed unable to provide adequate housing for all, and state intervention was required to ensure the supply of good-quality affordable housing for lowincome households. However, it was after World War II that the governments became massively involved in housing to address the severe shortage, mostly by providing large housing complexes.

Affordable Housing And Housing Affordability Affordable housing is generally defined as “housing that is available for purchase or rent at a market value affordable to the majority of the population”; as such, the term is particularly used to describe “housing provided at sub-market prices to households on low incomes.”2 Authors use numerous definitions for affordable housing, but it is generally known as a "tenure-neutral term to describe housing that is priced to be accessible to low- to moderate-income households.”1 In a similar way, “affordable housing is also related to the ability of a family to pay for their house.”8 Furthermore, affordable housing is considered “an integral part of national housing systems” that mostly consists of several tenures, such as “home ownership, private rent and social rent.”3 Through different forms of support (policy-making, financing, and other), governments play a major role in influencing their housing systems.

It is claimed that the social housing systems developed during the 1950s and 1960s, had the following features in common: “social housing was seen primarily as a construction rather than a management responsibility,” “policy was mainly concerned with the number of units built; quality and variety were minor issues,” and “the development perspective focused on housing estates,” while less focus was given to the “residential environment or any linkages with the local economy, the local community or existing amenities.”1 By the 1970s, as the housing shortages seemed to be overcome, “many governments were placing less emphasis on social housing and more on addressing quality and affordability problems.”1 Therefore, more focus was on quality rather than quantity. By the

ABOVE: Example of UK council housing estate built in 1960s.

Courtesy Paolo Margari / Wikimedia

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From another point of view, it is claimed that “affordable housing and housing affordability are not the same,” but addressing one can affect the other. In a broad definition, affordable housing is “housing

ABOVE: Housing in Albania - Courtesy www.unlab.eu

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Social housing was seen primarily as a construction rather than a management responsibility. for people in need,” to include many kinds of people (seniors, young families, low and moderate-income workers, homeless, etc.) and different kinds of affordable housing (low-cost market, as well as subsidized rental housing). At the same time, housing affordability is “the degree to which housing is attainable to anyone, at any income level.” 5 Similarly, some authors see housing affordability as a broader concept. They claim that it “takes into account subsidized housing as well as other factors, such as transportation costs and the hidden costs of renting and displacement. 6 Therefore, housing affordability as a concept involves more than the often-used, simplified approach of the “house purchase price to household income” ratio.7 Even though affordability is subject to national interpretations, it is commonly stated that “households that spend more than 30% of their gross income to obtain adequate and appropriate housing have an affordability problem,” despite the fact that this “definition is far from being universally accepted.” 2 Recent studies depict the quality of social and affordable housing as challenging. They show that in “several countries there is a lack of rental housing, in some a lack of housing designed to meet special needs,” and in others, “a general housing shortage.” 14 It is obvious that measures need to be taken by governments to address these issues.

The discussion of affordable living along with affordable housing brings the fact that the “standard affordability measures” do not account for the “trade-offs between cheap or affordable housing and the commuting costs associated with residence in such locations.”9 It is a known fact that people migrate where the employment opportunities are, so cities that have the most dynamic labor markets” typically have the greatest housing affordability problems.”7 Common problems are the growing rents and prices, which “push out even middle-income households.”10 Therefore, it is stated that a family residing out of an urban area may have “an affordable dwelling” but not necessarily an “affordable living.”

Similarly, shrinking regions where unemployment causes reduced incomes and lower housing market values; as a result, “low-income households remain trapped in these areas because housing is unaffordable for them elsewhere, and policy responses focus on improving the environment of lagging areas rather than supporting housing closer to viable job markets.”10 Regardless of slow population growth in Europe, changing demographic, social, and family patterns across Europe are another

factor in the increase in demand for housing. The new patterns include a higher number of households arising from a decrease in household size, an increasing proportion of single-person households and couples without children, an ageing population with specific needs, and large families of immigrants with their stronger presence in social housing.11 Housing affordability is the backbone of all housing policies. It is almost taken for granted that housing policies in every country have at least one objective related to affordable housing. However, especially since the 2008 financial and economic crisis, housing has become more unaffordable for low- and moderate-income earners. According to a report from Housing Europe,19 in 2012, on average Europeans spent over a fifth of their income (22.9%) on housing. The share of housing costs out of disposable income for those at risk of poverty was almost double the overall rate (40.4%).

In 2014, EUROSTAT reported that an 11.4% share of the EU-28 population lived in households that spent 40% or more of their equalized disposable income on housing, affecting the poor more.

The data suggest that the increasing housing cost overburden rate is a "social trend to watch." 20 This increasing problem is not only related to the increase in poverty and social polarization that have reduced the ability of households to afford the costs of housing but also to austerity measures that requires cuts in both the public and private sectors. For example, in the United Kingdom, the number of housing completions, after peaking in 2007/08, tailed off dramatically by 36% because of the financial crisis.(21) Consequently, in EU member states, new social housing production has decreased, while the number of households on waiting lists for social housing has increased.22 These austerity measures have affected housing affordability, and the availability of affordable housing in the market key indicator for policy-makers, based on which they introduce instruments to fill the affordability gap.

Historically in Europe, a range of instruments has addressed either supply or demand problems or both of them. Nowadays these instruments are minimized, and governments rely more on the market to provide affordable housing.

The affordable dwellings provision is crucial to prevent people from “falling in the poverty trap and to tackle housing exclusion,” along with “consolidating the purchasing power of households, promoting their consumption of goods and services,” 2 thanks to provisions that enable the moderate rents/prices for the most needed.

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Neighborhood upgrading programs in some countries are demolishing unoccupied or unpopular housing.

Several European countries have reinstated policies regarding the supply of additional affordable housing as a measure to counteract the recent shortages in affordable housing and problems that lower-income households experience in gaining ownership of their homes. These policies have been restored in Ireland, England, France, Belgium, and Austria. Furthermore, the Dutch government is “imploring the independent and wealthy housing associations sector in the Netherlands to invest more in new social housing to help counter a downturn in housing market activity.”12 New instruments have been introduced in Italy, Slovakia, and Poland that have launched programs aimed at helping young people and young couples to buy their first home. Romania and Slovenia also provide state guarantees on mortgage loans for first-time buyers.

A new scheme, called “buy as you go,” was proposed last year in the UK, where people rent homes at around 90% of the market rate in the local area, with the payments are split between rent and equity payments that change over time until the tenant eventually owns the home outright. According to the National Housing Federation, housing associations will be able to build 335,000 homes in the next four years, including a significant number on a “buy as you go” tenure, if given some additional funding. 23 In some countries, contribution to the “provision of affordable housing” is “a condition of planning permission” for developers and landowners. Such measures are well developed in England and are important in Ireland and the Netherlands. In addition, in England, “private sector developments above given thresholds” are required to have a “particular proportion of affordable housing which can be a mix of social rented housing and low cost home ownership dwellings.” 12 Other examples of mixed affordable housing are located in Tillburg, London, and most other European cities; the aim is to mix “affordable units and the people who live in them” with “market rate housing and their residents,” avoiding the “stigma associated with living in low income housing” 15 as well as creating a population mix that contributes to a sustainable and livable neighborhood.

Addressing the provision of affordable and adequate housing through “area-based urban renewal and regeneration programs” has been explored by a number of European countries. This involved “commitments at the national level,” which allowed a “supportive institutional and regulatory framework for local action.” 7 With that, local authorities created partnerships to increase the “supply of affordable housing” and assist “vulnerable groups through urban regeneration projects.” The partnerships with non-profit housing

providers and community groups enabled experimentation with “inner city regeneration, brownfield redevelopment, and waterfront redevelopment schemes,” 7 a concept that affects French housing policies in the 1990s and was referenced as a solution to the problem of social exclusion. However, referencing recent experiences in some Parisian suburbs and elsewhere in France, “achieving social inclusion through housing policies has been particularly challenging to implement.” 7 In another case, Germany and Ireland initiated programs aimed to increase “local responsiveness in housing strategies” by adopting further roles “for local governments,” roles such as supplying land for affordable housing, making housing planning and monitoring more stringent, setting up partnerships with the nonprofit section to supply affordable housing, community building and neighborhood renewal, as well as employment generation.12 With the involvement of local government in housing planning, a key player is brought into a “more strategic level of housing policy-making.”

Despite the housing shortages in Europe, many countries have a surplus of housing. Nearly one million dwellings in the eastern part of Germany, though renovated after unification, are unoccupied.

Moreover “neighborhood upgrading programs in some countries are demolishing unoccupied or unpopular housing,” in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.7 We can conclude that, regardless of “improvement of housing conditions in most of the countries, lack of progress in several critical areas remains a major concern”13; these areas include the continuous increase in affordability problems and homelessness, the obvious limited social housing provision, land shortages in dense locations.

Europe’s social and political agenda in recent years has not included much regarding housing affordability among lower income groups.

As we can see, only a small portion of regional and national social policies is usually given to affordability. Similarly, at the global scale level, it is only “addressed minimally in the resilient cities debate currently taking place among academics and policymakers.” 10 The importance to national and local governments of universal access to adequate and affordable housing is clear. As shown in the past, this “does not mean direct provision,” since that does not necessarily “produce houses of decent quality,” however, it is much more “than leaving housing provision completely to the market." 7 Further Recommendations Affordability should be part of Europe’s political agenda, especially

Bardhyl Rama, Intl. Assoc. AIA

With over 15 years of experience in housing projects, Bard has designed over a hundred single family houses and several multifamily apartment buildings. Besides working on a PhD focusing on sustainable residential complexes, Bard is currently the Eastern Europe Section Director on the AIA Europe Board of Directors.

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A mixed strategy will be beneficial in improving housing affordability. when we take into consideration resilient and livable cities, social inclusion, and a social mix. As we all are aware, “policies for affordable housing cost money, but they also create added value even though this might be difficult to measure in financial terms.”10 A linkage between national and local affordability standards and policies will be “important to safeguard adequate and affordable housing solutions.”

We should learn from long historical knowledge and experience of affordable housing held by a good number of European countries. “A mixed strategy will be beneficial in improving housing affordability,” increase housing provision for “middle- and high income households,” and ease production of “new housing units for low-income households.” 7 Similarly, based on the “experience of different countries and cities in the region,” we can agree that, to make access to adequate and affordable housing a priority, “housing policy changes are urgently needed.” 13 European countries are called on to “consolidate their experiences, refine their considerable expertise, and explore new housing policies.” 7 With this move, affordable housing provision would scale up in reaching “low-income households and ensure the full realization of their basic human right to adequate housing.”

Finally, housing affordability issues in Europe are known and can be solved, but what is required is the political will at the EU and national levels to endorse these solutions. They also require “innovation in the public and private sectors to implement them.” 10 The provision of quality housing with reasonable prices for Europe’s lower-income groups will have a big influence on their quality of life and overall well-being.

Reference 1. UN Habitat. (2012). Financing Affordable Social Housing in Europe.

2. Pittini, A. (2012). Housing Affordability in the EU 2012, Current situation and recent trends.

Brussels, Belgium: CECODHAS Housing Europe’s Observatory.

3. UN Habitat. (2008). Financing affordable housing in Europe, Social Housing in Europe (2014) and The State of Housing in EU (2015). Retrieved at https://unhabitat.org/books/financingaffordable-housing-in-europe/ 4. Strategy for Sustainable Housing and Land Management in the ECE Region for the Period 2014-2020 5. Tuckey, Bryan and Special Star. "Housing Affordability Should Be A Government Priority | Toronto Star." Retrieved 27 Feb, 2017, at thestar.com.

6. Club of Portland. (2016) Housing Affordability In Portland City, Club Of Portland Bulletin. 2016.

Print. Vol. 98, No. 15, April 13, 2016.

7. UN Habitat. (2011) Affordable Land and Housing in Europe and North America.

Retrieved at http://www.unhabitat.org 8. A.M.J.Esruq-Labin, A.I.Che-Ani, N.M. Tawil, M.N.M. Nawi, M.A.Othuman Mydin. (2014).

Criteria for Affordable Housing Performance Measurement: A Review.

9. Stone M., Burke T., and Ralston L. (2011). The residual income approach to housing affordability: the theory and the practice. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Swinburne – Monash Research Centre May 2011 AHURI Positioning Paper No. 139 10. Habitat for Humanity. (2015). Housing Review 2015: Affordability, Livability, Sustainability, Habitat for Humanity. Retrieved at https://www.habitat.org 11. Financing Social and Affordable Housing in Europe: the CEB’s Approach 12. Lawson, J, and Miligan, V. (2008). Provision of affordable housing in Europe, North America and Central Asia: policies and practices. International trends in housing and policy responses.

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

14 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Unit Palais des Nations. (2014). UNECE Study Shows That Housing Is the Least Affordable Human Right. Accessed Feb 18, 2017. http://www.unece.org 15 Johnson, H.L. (2004). Building a Better City: Europe’s Affordable Housing Standard. Retrieved at http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/133/europe.html 16. United Nations. (2015). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Resolution A/ RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015, "United Nations Official Document". Retrieved 20 Feb 2017 at http://www. un.org 17. University of West of England; Bristol. (2008). The History of Council Housing. Retrieved at https://fet.uwe.ac.uk/conweb/house_ages/council_housing/print.htm) 18. van der Heijden, H. (2013). West European housing systems in a comparative perspective, The series Sustainable Urban Areas. Delft: IOS Press.

19. Pittini, A. and Laino, E. (2012). The nuts and bolts of European social housing systems.

In Housing Europe Review 2012. Brusels, Belgium: CECODHAS Housing Europe’s Observatory.

20. Council of the European Union, The Social Protection Committee. (2014). Social Europe Aiming for inclusive growth Annual report of the Social Protection Committee on the social situation in the European Union.

21. Beckett, D. (2014). Trends in the United Kingdom Housing Market, Office of the National Statistics ONS. Accessed Feb 2017 at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk /20160105160709/ 22. Housing Europe. (2015). Housing markets and housing conditions in the EU. A crosscountry observation. Retrieved at www.housingeurope.eu 23. Boffey, D. (Nov 5, 2015). Tory ‘buy as you go’ plan to make renters homeowners. Retrieved at https://www.theguardian.com

Doris Andoni

A housing policy expert, Doris was General Director of National Housing Agency of Albania in 2014-2016 and a senior housing expert for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 2012-2014. Her field of expertise includes housing policy and program development, strategic planning, policy analysis, and project management.

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FROM MODELS TO REALITY 3D PRINTING THE NEW FRONTIER

BY KWESI DANIELS

O

n a recent trip to a museum, my seven-year-old son, Indigo, an aspiring architect, asked me about the different tools that were on display in the architecture exhibit. He was so excited as I explained to him the process that architects used to manifest their ideas in reality. We talked about Mayline’s, X-actos, cutting mats, adjustable triangles, lettering guides, lead holders, and drafting boards. As I explained how we used to design, he rambunctiously pulled me over to see a series of models made of plaster. “Daddy, how do they turn these small buildings into the big ones?” At that moment, I reflected on how much architecture has changed. The design process that used to take months and years now takes days and weeks to go from concept to building. I became nostalgic thinking about how many processes have evolved and become obsolete…blue printing, vellum and mylar hand drafting, hand model and building making. I became lost in my thoughts, reminiscing about the good ol’ days…I was jolted from my throughs by my son: “Daddy, you didn’t answer my question!”

“Well, son, they used to make models and blue-prints for the contractors to use to build the buildings, like the one we are in.

However, now everything is made using a computer, even the building. The architect just sends the final design to the printer to print the building and its components. The contractor assembles the pieces and adds the finishing touches. It’s very different now.”

My son was amazed. “They actually print buildings!” I chuckled, “Yes, son, they print buildings.”

Okay, I have a confession. I didn’t go to the museum with my son; the story was a fabrication. So don’t worry, we still use X-actos, straight edges, and glue. And yes, buildings are built by hand, not printed and fully constructed in weeks…wait, no, that part is NOT true.

For more than a decade, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, director of the Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT) at the University of Southern California (UCS) has been developing Contour Crafting, a technique that allows the printing of full-scale 3D buildings. The process he developed aims to revolutionize the building and construction industry by using 3D printers to eliminate waste, ensure higher construction quality, and encourage the rapid construction of complex geometric buildings. A social benefit of this technology is its potential to both increase access to affordable housing and subsequently reduce the associated impacts of poor quality housing. According to Sally Murray, a country economist at the International Growth Centre of the London School of Economics, “Poorly constructed settlements don’t just cause domestic hardship and ‘low prestige’; they also worsen residents’ mental and physical health, cognitive development and economic participation.”

In 2014, WinSun, a Chinese company, embarked upon a new frontier for the commercial sector of the building and design industry when they 3D printed 10 full-scale 3D homes. WinSun proved it is possible to streamline the building construction process from months and hundreds of thousands of dollars to weeks for $4,800.

Since that time, they have printed a five-story residential apartment building and a villa complete with ornamentation. Ma Rongquan, the chief engineer of China Construction No. 8 Engineering Bureau, confirmed that the villa and residential apartment buildings “were in full compliance with relevant national standards.”

The success of 3D printing is fostering commercial explorations in materiality, construction, and design throughout the globe. Dubai is charting a path to have 25% of their buildings built using 3D printing technology by 2030. They recently opened the world’s first fully functional 3D-printed office, one month after launching their 3D

ABOVE: DUBAI 3D PRINTED OFFICE - Courtesy Winsun, Ltd.

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ABOVE: WALL SECTION -- A company in China has produced 3D printed walls from cement and construction waste.

Courtesy caixin / vulcanpost.com

SHELTERING

The potential for students and young aspiring architects to see their smallscale models realized as actual built projects is uncharted territory. printing strategy for the city. The office was constructed with an innovative cement mixture and building materials developed in the UAE and the United States and tested in China and the United Kingdom. The curvilinear building form was adopted to promote design innovation in addition to the safety and stability of the building. In the Philippines, Lewis Yakich 3D printed a hotel suite with furniture and a jacuzzi. He is now aiming to expand his portfolio of 3D-printed structures to include 2,000 affordable housing units.

The WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) team of Italy has been experimenting with the use of clay, soil, and composite material in their 3D-printing process. Their goal is to integrate traditional building materials in local regions to make construction more affordable. They have had success with small-scale models and are currently developing the materials to eventually produce a full-scale home. The U.S. commercial sector is also seeking to participate in this emerging field. Sunconomy, a U.S.-based construction company is currently raising money to print two concept homes for the American market. The company states that the homes will be given to a “100% disabled veteran and to a Restore Texas Prison Ministry to support men transitioning to normal life [as a kind of] ‘Pay It Forward’ approach to changing the world of construction…”

3D printing was adopted within the architecture community decades ago for its ability to produce scaled models; however, the potential for students and young aspiring architects to see their small-scale models realized as actual built projects is uncharted territory. The ability to understand the nuances of any design at full scale has been cost prohibitive until now. Full-scale 3D printing is a game changer for our industry. 3D printing has opened the door to new explorations in materiality, affordability, and sustainability. It is being lauded for its ability to: ● Reduce waste within the production process

Countries around the world are connecting with this new technology because of the opportunity to promote growth more affordably than contemporary methods of construction. It is a vehicle to find new uses for previously discarded materials and to explore more complex building forms. It has been three years since the commercial introduction of full-scale 3D printing, and this industry is moving forward at a rapid pace.

Is 3D printing the new frontier for architecture and construction, with students as the frontiersmen? Computer-based technology has revolutionized the way that everything is produced in all facets of our world. Although the supply list and required skillsets of incoming architecture students has not changed too dramatically over the years, an assessment of them reads like the description of a museum exhibit. The traditional tools and strategies we have used to create models and building buildings are quickly becoming museum relics, and the skills architects need to stay competitive are becoming more nuanced. Although my initial story was a fabrication, it is not too different from the reality of today.

Reference GulfNews Staff. UAE aims to be global hub for 3D printing. http://gulfnews.com. GulfNews, 01 Mar. 2016. Web.1 Feb. 2017.

JLL Staff. Can 3D printing revolutionize how we build low cost homes? http://www.jllrealviews.com.

RealViews, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

Kira. Exclusive: WinSun China builds world’s first 3D printed villa and tallest 3D printed apartment building. 3ders.org. 3ders.org, 18 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

Khoshnevis, Behrokh. Houses of the Future: Construction by Contour Crafting Building Houses for Everyone. University of Southern California, 2004.

Mok, Kimberley. WASP: 3D printing affordable housing out of mud. https://thenewstack.io. The New Stack, 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Murray, Sally. Focus on poverty: 3D revolution in low-income housing? SciDevNet. SciDev.Net, 10 June 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

Wu, Peng, Jun Wang, and Xiangyu Wang. A critical review of the use of 3-D printing in the construction industry. Automation in Construction 68 (2016): 21-31.

Tess. Sunconomy, Apis-Cor raising funds to build two 3D printed houses for charity. 3ders.org, 15 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

Winsun world press conference - company news - English. WinSun. 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

● Promote design flexibility ● Reduce manpower required for construction ● Improve the economy of building ● Improve the building's environmental performance

Kwesi Daniels, NOMA

is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Tuskegee University in 2002, a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from Columbia University. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Geography at Temple University, conducting urban sustainability research.

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CO-HOUSING

TYPOLOGIES FOR COLLECTIVE LIVING

BY VIVIAN SCHWAB

I

n 2011, when Lars Uellendahl and his partner Sonja Műller, both landscape architects, decided to buy a home in Basel, they entered a nearly impossible market. In the wake of the global financial crisis, Switzerland’s perceived stability was compounded by record-low interest rates, saturating the market with foreign investment. Homeownership, which requires a 20 percent down payment, was virtually unattainable for the young Swiss buyers.

Not only was financing a challenge, but Lars and Sonia wanted to live with four friends with the accommodation of both privacy and collectivity. So, they realized they would have to get a bit creative.

In 2013, Lars, Sonja, and four friends founded the legal cooperative Zimmerfrei, and reached out to Stiftung Habitat, a nonprofit foundation that leased a plot of land in Erlenmatt East. The land was divided into individual parcels, providing mixed-use development and living spaces for up to 750 people. Their goal was to facilitate ecological and economical urban development. They established a catalogue of standards for location, volume, and use of the buildings as well as sustainability, energy, and mobility. They created an ideological and legal catalogue based on Switzerland’s 2,000 watt goal for the reduction of energy consumption throughout Switzerland. They emphasize thoughtful design, provide opportunities for tenant involvement, promote the construction of green urban spaces, and help co-finance through affordable loans. The foundation includes local residents and neighborhood associations.

Zimmerfrei signed an agreement with Stiftung Habitat to develop a parcel for a residential building that would accomodate 100 individuals and adhere to a logistical framework limiting the amount ABOVE TOP: UNIT SIZE DIAGRAM Courtesy of Zimmerfrei ABOVE BOTTOM: URBAN CONTEXT- Courtesy of Zimmerfrei

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What happens when participation and collaboration come before the design process begins? What would people build if they could decide? of private space, the quality of insulation, a façade strategy, window standards, and energy systems. With a technical and economic framework in place, Zimmerfrei moved toward design by asking what happens when participation and collaboration come before the design process begins. What would people build if they could decide?

In Switzerland, cooperative housing is 100–120 years old; it is not just about cheap living, but possesses deep ideological layers that value the collective over the individual. In the early 90s, the real estate crisis caused a resurgence of alternative forms of living.

For the first time, these were centered in an urban context. Most

notorious was Kraftwerk1, initiated by Andreas Hofer in Zurich.

Kraftwerk established a permanent residence on the grounds of a former factory designed by Sulzer-Escher-Cies, a live work space for 700 people. An alternative to the private housing market, they were a collective, self-organized, environmentally and economically sustainable community that presented a new model and typology for affordable housing. They encouraged an alternative to capitalism that allowed the building to adaptat throughout its lifetime.

Zimmerfrei used Kraftwerk's model and Habitat’s resources to attract people to the project. After some 50 members joined the group, they organized workshops to discuss some of the fundamental programmatic criteria: how much individual space was needed? How much common space? How would circulation be organized? How many flats could fit within the footprint? They conducted 4 workshops over a 3-4 month period, sticking to a strict timeline. Their approach was driven by result rather than process.

Workshops were direct, task oriented, and input driven. Efficiency was the byproduct of the process; they recognized that, with so many factors involved, a certain flexibility is necessary. The ultimate goal of the workshops was to define an architectonic program.

During the research and development phase, Zimmerfrei members visited Cooperative Kalkbreite in Zurich, designed by Muller Sigrist.

Built on top of a tram depot, normal investors deemed the property site too risky, leaving it open for alternative investment strategies.

So Kalkbreite reached out to the municipality with a proposal: more than a tram depot, they wanted a space to live. They provided cluster flats with a shared common room and a large kitchen and private rooms with mini kitchens and bathrooms, which takes less space than normal flats would but provides more privacy.

Building upon these precidents, the programming phase of Zimmerfrei was completed. In March 2014, they initiated a design competition. They invited well-known architects to the jury, which gave the project architectural legitimacy and attracted stronger candidates. In the fall of 2014, the finalists were chosen, and an exhibition was held to attract publicity momentum for financial support of the project. There was no insurance on the borrowed funds, but the cooperative partnered with Habitat to provide a security bond for the project.

In the winter of 2014, Bründler and Buchner were chosen as the winners. The final design is a mixture of cluster apartments (minimum 8 people, maximum 14 people), studios, 1 bdrm, 2bdrm, 3bdrm, 4bdrm, 5bdrm, and 7bdrm. Each unit requires a minimum

ABOVE: SITE PLAN Courtesy of Zimmerfrei

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number of individuals, meaning that occupants are required to switch apartments as families age out. Cooperative membership costs 1,000 SF. Living in a flat requires an initial fee that averages 30,000 SF (13,000 SF for the cheapest) and monthly rent.

The competition, schematic design, design development, and permitting phases came to about 1.8 million Swiss francs. Most of the private investors were ideologically driven, but Zimmerfrei also incentivized financial backing by borrowing money from private investors at an interest rate with a higher return than that offered at the banks. The caveat was that there was no insurance on the funds, but the partnership with Habitat to provided a guarantee of the project's completion and occupancy.

The resurgence of co-housing typologies addresses a shifting social climate that prioritizes issues of resource consumption, spatial optimization, and paradigms of living. By involving future occupants in the early stages of design, these projects think holistically about the impacts of architecture on the daily lives of urban residents. Zimmerfrei, Kalkbreite, and Kraftwerk 1 represent the positive potential of working creatively within the cracks of housing bureaucracy. They give us hope that these cracks can turn fissures into breaks, from which new paradigms can emerge.

The instability of our contemporary condition makes it easy to dream of a better world. When current society does not meet our needs, we invent. For the past century, individuals and architects have pursued visionary innovations to improve the daily lives of citizens. The 20th-century was an era of idealism. But the failures of the 20th century housing market has perhaps given birth to a new era of pragmatism, and space for new economic models and spatial typologies to remediate the dislocation caused by the market-driven development. â&#x2013;

As young architects, we must ask ourselves how architecture attains efficiency in the realization of sustainable development goals on the global scale?

North Elevation

Northwest Elevation .

West Elevation .

ABOVE TOP: GROUND FLOOR PLAN- Courtesy of Zimmerfrei ABOVE BOTTOM: ELEVATIONS- Courtesy of Zimmerfrei

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2.5 Rooms

Studio

6.5 Rooms

3.5 Rooms

Balkon 5 m2

Balkon 5 m2

Bad 4.5 m2 Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 18 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 12 m2

Zimmer 14 m2

Bad 3 m2

-0.90

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Bad 4.5 m2

Zimmer 11.5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 44 m2

Âą0.00

Wohn-/ Essbereich 38.5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 55 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 38.5 m2

+2.95

+2.95

Grundriss M 1:100

4.5 Rooms

8.5 Rooms

5.5 Rooms

Balkon 5 m2

Balkon 5 m2

Zimmer 14 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Zimmer 12 m2

Zimmer 12 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Reduit 5.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 12 m2

Zimmer 17.5 m2

Reduit 5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Zimmer 11.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 75.5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 53.5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 38.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Balkon 5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Bad 5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

+2.95

Blick in den Erlenhof

13 room

Projektdokumentation August 2015

Zimmer 12 m2 Zimmer 17.5 m2

Zimmer 17 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 17 m2

Zimmer 14 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 17 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Zimmer 15.5 m2

Zimmer 11 m2 Bad 6.0 m2

Bad 6.5 m2

Bad 6.0 m2

Zimmer 13.5 m2

+14.55

Bad 6.5 m2

Bad 6.0 m2

Bad 5.5 m2

Bad 5.5 m2

Bad 6.5 m2

Zimmer 14.5 m2

Wohn-/ Essbereich 88.5 m2

+14.55

ABOVE TOP: UNIT PLANS - Courtesy of Zimmerfrei ABOVE BOTTOM: IINTERIOR RENDERING - Courtesy of Zimmerfrei

Vivian Schwab

has a BA in Sociology and Studio Art is currently pursuing a Masters in Architecture at Rice University. Last summer she received H. Russell Pitman Graduate Fellowship in Architecture to research collective housing typologies in Switzerland, France, Denmark, and Germany.

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#yafchat

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Feb #YAFchat! I’m Lora Follow Teagarden, PR Director for @AIAYAF. You can typ find me over at @L2DesignLLC.

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@aiayaf Brian here #yafchat AIA YAF

Jon Penndorf Follow Today we'll be talking about the path to fellowship, from EP to @ SnarkitectDC

1 young leader. We’ve got two special guests today, A1: set apart from who? #YAFchat @SnarkitectDC & @mdumich 1:11 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:01 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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These two gents were past @AIAYAF chair & AdCom and recently elevated to Fellowship ­ congrats again! First: Roll call­ Who’s here? #YAFchat 1:04 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@ SnarkitectDC Follow @bpaletz @AIA YAF AIAYAF

Follow A1: set apart from who? #YAFchat @AIAYAF A1 Simplest thing is to just get involved. Don't @

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@SnarkitectDC Fellow EPs, others in the profession...for 1:11 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 complain about what doesn't work, help change it to something learning, career advancement, etc #YAFchat These two gents were past @AIAYAF chair & AdCom and

@AIAYAF that does. #yafchat

AIA YAF

1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 recently elevated to Fellowship ­ congrats again! First: Roll call­ 1:12 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Jon Penndorf Follow 1:10 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 @SnarkitectDC Fellow EPs, others in the profession...for AIA YAF

Follow @SnarkitectDC @AIAYAF learning, career advancement, etc #YAFchat A1: Following your passion to get involved in making a 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 Yes! Be the change. #YAFchat twitter.com/bpaletz/status… difference in the profession, no matter the topic. #YAFchat RATIO Follow

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The RATIO team is here from #Indy! #YAFchat

1:05 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 Jon Penndorf Follow @SnarkitectDC RATIO 1 Follow Jon Penndorf Follow @RATIOglobal A1: Following your passion to get involved in making a @SnarkitectDC difference in the profession, no matter the topic. #YAFchat A1 Show passion in your work, volunteer to help before asked, A1: Also, don't focus on being noticed. If your work is good, it 1:14 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 seek to learn. #YAFchat will set you apart on its own. #YAFchat

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Brian Paletz, AIA Brian Paletz, AIA

Brian Paletz, AIA @bpaletz bpaletz @

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A1 Show passion in your work, volunteer to help before asked, A1 Show passion in your work, volunteer to help before asked, A1 Show passion in your work, volunteer to help before asked, seek to learn. #YAFchat seek to learn. #YAFchat seek to learn. #YAFchat 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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A1: #EmergingProfessionals should pursue their passions. Seek A1: #EmergingProfessionals should pursue their passions. Seek A1: #EmergingProfessionals should pursue their passions. Seek opportunities to make an impact in your firm and community opportunities to make an impact in your firm and community opportunities to make an impact in your firm and community #yafchat #yafchat #yafchat 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:13 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Yes! Be the change. #YAFchat twitter.com/bpaletz/status…

Yes! Be the change. #YAFchat twitter.com/bpaletz/status…

Yes! Be the change. #YAFchat twitter.com/bpaletz/status…

Lots of comments involving passion! Gist being to do what you Lots of comments involving passion! Gist being to do what you love and love what you do, yes? #YAFchat love and love what you do, yes? #YAFchat

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@AIAYAF not specific, but always do more than your asked at @AIAYAF not specific, but always do more than your asked at work. You will gain trust & be given more responsibilty to grow work. You will gain trust & be given more responsibilty to grow #yafchat #yafchat

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Matt Dumich Follow @mdumich A1: Also, don't focus on being noticed. If your work is good, it Matt Dumich

Follow Matt Dumich Follow will set you apart on its own. #YAFchat @mdumich @mdumich A1: #EmergingProfessionals should pursue their passions. Seek 1:15 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 opportunities to make an impact in your firm and community A1: Create and seize every leadership opportunity.#yafchat A1: Create and seize every leadership opportunity.#yafchat

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@AIAYAF A1 Simplest thing is to just get involved. Don't @AIAYAF A1 Simplest thing is to just get involved. Don't @AIAYAF A1 Simplest thing is to just get involved. Don't complain about what doesn't work, help change it to something complain about what doesn't work, help change it to something complain about what doesn't work, help change it to something that does. #yafchat that does. #yafchat that does. #yafchat

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Moderated by the 2016-2017 AIA YAF Public Relations Director Lora Teagarden and hosted by the AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF). The yafchat for the month @AIAYAF A1: Don't be afraid to stand out, either in ur office or of February focused on #PathToFellowshipJon Penndorf Follow community. be a leader not a follower #YAFchat @SnarkitectDC

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#YAFchat A3: I've only attempted 3 of 6 of the new tests and I'm #YAFchat A3: I've only attempted 3 of 6 of the new tests and I'm already pondering what will be next. I just joined the new #aiastl already pondering what will be next. I just joined the new #aiastl Q3: I suppose I filled my "study" time with giving back to the WIA. WIA. profession ­ teach ARE prep classes, founded the @AIAdcEAC.

A3: Licensure is a point of reflection, a "what's next" moment.

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Matt Dumich Alison Pavilonis

@HeatherTayl0r Jon Penndorf @ HeatherTayl0r

@SnarkitectDC

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Matt Dumich Follow @AIAYAF got more involved in @AIAdcEAC and learned how to @mdumich ride a motorcycle #generalist #committeelife #YAFchat A3: Licensure is a point of reflection, a "what's next" moment.

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1 seeking #yafchat

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Heather Taylor

Q3: I suppose I filled my "study" time with giving back to the 1:31 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

1 6 profession ­ teach ARE prep classes, founded the @AIAdcEAC.

2 Matt Dumich @mdumich #YAFchat Follow Follow

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1:27 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 2

1:32 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

Brian Paletz, AIA 1:27 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 Brian Paletz, AIA

@bpaletz

Q3: What did you do with your “study” time when you got licensed? Did you pursue a new passion? Mentor? etc #YAFchat

1:38 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 #YAFchat 1:38 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Alison Pavilonis

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@SnarkitectDC

Jon Penndorf Follow Q3: I suppose I filled my "study" time with giving back to the @SnarkitectDC profession ­ teach ARE prep classes, founded the @AIAdcEAC. #YAFchat @AIAYAF I saw a need based on my own experience in the

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Jon Penndorf

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@bpaletz

Brian Paletz, AIA Follow @AIAYAF A2 Resources, contacts, motivation ­ if your not @bpaletz engaged, it will be much harder to utilize those benefits #yafchat @AIAYAF A3, Actually, "study time" became volunteer time at 1:25 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 @AIAFortWorth #yafchat

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2 Q3: What did you do with your “study” time when you got AIA YAF Brian Paletz, AIA Follow licensed? Did you pursue a new passion? Mentor? etc #YAFchat Matt Dumich @AIAYAF

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Q4: What motivates/ed you to be involved as you gained Q4: What motivates/ed you to be involved as you gained

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yafchat # @AIAYAF Shannon Christensen

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@srpc406

A3 "Study" time became time I could get more involved in my Jamie Crawley Follow community ­ locally, professionally, at Montana State ­ & give @falloutstudio back. #YAFchat A4: finding ops for myself to pursue my passions and maybe 1:55 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 more so a growing need to provide ops for others. Listening to

1 peers #YAFChat 1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@bpaletz

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@AIAYAF A4 A need to for a bigger voice within the prof. than @AIAYAF A4 A need to for a bigger voice within the prof. than just what I accomplish at work. #ArchiTalks just what I accomplish at work. #ArchiTalks #GettoKnowYourArchitect #yafchat #GettoKnowYourArchitect #yafchat

AIA YAF @AIAYAF Adam Schwartz

1:39 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:39 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@adamschwartz42

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Q4: What motivates/ed you to be involved as you gained Jon Penndorf Follow experience as a #youngarchitect? #YAFchat Jon Penndorf A4: The folks I work with help me stay motivated, as they are

Follow @SnarkitectDC @SnarkitectDC idealistic, passionate, and care deeply about giving back.

1:35 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 Q4: Motivation to better the profession. With YAF we saw a need Q4: Motivation to better the profession. With YAF we saw a need for soft skills development & jumped on the opportunity. for soft skills development & jumped on the opportunity. #YAFchat #YAFchat

#YAFchat 1:39 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:42 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 · Alexandria, VA

1:39 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Brian Paletz, AIA

Matt Dumich Matt Dumich

@mdumich

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@bpaletz

@AIAYAF A4 A need to for a bigger voice within the prof. than just what I accomplish at work. #ArchiTalks #GettoKnowYourArchitect #yafchat

1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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AIA YAF

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#WhatAFellowDoes Thanks for your service, Matt!

These next two Qs have an a/ and b/. a/ is for Fellows to answer #WhatAFellowDoes Thanks for your service, Matt! #YAFchat twitter.com/mdumich/status…

Q4: Motivation to better the profession. With YAF we saw a need #YAFchat twitter.com/mdumich/status…

1:43 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 for soft skills development & jumped on the opportunity. b/ is for chatters. #YAFchat 1:43 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 @SnarkitectDC

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@adamschwartz42

AIA YAF

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Q5a: Specific to our Fellows: What does Fellowship mean to Follow you? Did you set it as a career goal? #YAFchat

1:45 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 AIA YAF @ AIAYAF 1

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1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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A5a: Fellowship was a career goal yes. Wasn't sure when tho. It means a lot ­ quite an honor to be recognized by peers. #YAFchat Jon Penndorf Follow 1:45 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 @SnarkitectDC

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@AIAYAF

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Q5b: Chatters: What does the differentiation of Fellowship mean to you as you grow in your career? #YAFchat 1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

@mdumich I was also encouraged by my mentors. #YAFchat 1:48 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

2 Matt Dumich @mdumich

Brian Paletz, AIA @bpaletz

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A5a: Fellowship was not specifically a goal. I was encouraged Matt Dumich Follow by mentors. Its a huge honor & humbling to be recognized for @mdumich

my work. #yafchat A5a: Fellowship is validating that my passion & work is 1:47 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 meaningful. It is a now platform for me to continue to lead &

3 serve. #yafchat

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@AIAYAF A5b Definitely a goal to be among that type of company, definitely not an end goal, there is no end goal, just the next one #yafchat 1:52 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@SnarkitectDC

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CONNECTION Matt Dumich @mdumich

AIA YAF @AIAYAF

@mdumich I was also encouraged by my mentors. #YAFchat

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Q6a: Fellows, since it's been mentioned: What role did mentorship play in your path to Fellowship? #YAFchat 1:50 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM Follow

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Q5a: Specific to our Fellows: What does Fellowship mean to you? Did you set it as a career goal? #YAFchat

A5a: Fellowship was not specifically a goal. I was encouraged by mentors. Its a huge honor & humbling to be recognized for my work. #yafchat Jon Penndorf

@AIAYAF

1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

@ SnarkitectDC 3

AIA YAF

#WhatAFellowDoes Thanks for your service, Matt! #YAFchat twitter.com/mdumich/status…

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These next two Qs have an a/ and b/. a/ is for Fellows to answer b/ is for chatters. #YAFchat

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1:47 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

AIA YAF

1 A5a: Fellowship was a career goal yes. Wasn't sure when tho. It means a lot ­ quite an honor to be recognized by peers. #YAFchat

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A4: The folks I work with help me stay motivated, as they are idealistic, passionate, and care deeply about giving back. #YAFchat

A4: I always find the more I give in service to the profession, the more I personally benefit #winwin #yafchat Jon Penndorf Follow 1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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1:43 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 Matt Dumich 1 @ mdumich 4

1:42 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 · Alexandria, VA

Matt Dumich

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A4: finding ops for myself to pursue my passions and maybe more so a growing need to provide ops for others. Listening to peers #YAFChat

AIA YAF AIA YAF

@AIAYAF

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Jamie Crawley

@falloutstudio

1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@AIAYAF

Jon Penndorf

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@mdumich

A4: I always find the more I give in service to the profession, the A4: I always find the more I give in service to the profession, the more I personally benefit #winwin #yafchat more I personally benefit #winwin #yafchat

Brian Paletz, AIA @bpaletz

Follow

Lora Teagarden @L2DesignLLC

4,070 Twitter Followers

@AIAYAF A5b Definitely a goal to be among that type of Architect. Adventurer. Biz Owner. ARESketches™ company, definitely not an end goal, there is no end goal, just AIA YAF Follow author (#AREsketches). 2017 @AIAnational @AIAYAF the next one #yafchat #youngarchitect award winner. @AIAYAF

AIA YAF Monthly Tweet-up 15 February, 2-3:00pm Eastern Time Theme: PathToFellowship Hashtag: #YAFChat

Q5b: Chatters: What does the differentiation of Fellowship mean to you as you grow in your career? #YAFchat

1:52 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

1:41 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Brian Paletz, AIA

PR Director. @RATIOglobal team. #Indianapolis

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@bpaletz

@AIAYAF A5b Definitely a goal to be among that type of company, definitely not an end goal, there is no end goal, just the next one #yafchat 1:52 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Q6a: Fellows, since it's been mentioned: What role did AIA YAF Follow mentorship play in your path to Fellowship? #YAFchat @AIAYAF

Matt Dumich

Q6a: Fellows, since it's been mentioned: What role did mentorship play in your path to Fellowship? #YAFchat

A6a: Mentorship has shaped my career, instilled an obligation to lead, give back & create environments for others to thrive. #yafchat

1:50 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

1:55 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

1:50 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Deane Madsen

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@mdumich

@deane_madsen

@adamschwartz42 Also, having mentors in the first place goes a long way #YAFchat 1:56 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Brian Paletz, AIA Jon Penndorf

AIA YAF

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@SnarkitectDC

Jon Penndorf

@AIAYAF A6b It should be a part of everyday, even if only a bit at a time. Helping those that come after me helps me moving fwd. #yafchat

1:50 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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A6a: Mentors played a huge role. Encouraged me to apply, sponsored my submission, wrote letters, etc. Constructive & Shannon Christensen Matt Dumich Follow @srpc406 @mdumich supportive. #YAFchat

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1:52 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

1:55 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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A6b: Encouragement from a #mentor at a critical career juncture

A6b: I believe strongly in passing on knowledge to those who can benefit from it, the world needs more mentors. 2/2 #YAFchat

1:55 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 · Alexandria, VA

1:59 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 · Alexandria, VA

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Last question! Q7: What do you wish your younger self knew as Jamie Crawley AIA YAF Follow a part of your path so far? #YAFchat @falloutstudio @AIAYAF

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Shannon Christensen Follow Last question! Q7: What do you wish your younger self knew as @srpc406 a part of your path so far? #YAFchat A6b Having great mentors has advanced my career path more 1:58 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 quickly. I have also grown by mentoring others. #YAFchat

1:54 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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@SnarkitectDC printing this on a tshirt and giving to younger self #needtimemachine #YAFChat #AdviceFromAFellow 2:02 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Jamie Crawley

Jamie Crawley

@adamschwartz42 1:59 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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A6b: Encouragement from a #mentor at a critical career juncture

3 can make all the difference in the world. 1/2 #YAFchat 1:55 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 · Alexandria, VA

A7: (whoah)....its gonna be ok #YAFChat

1 4 Matt Dumich 1:59 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 @mdumich

Brian Paletz, AIA

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@falloutstudio

Adam Schwartz A7: (whoah)....its gonna be ok #YAFChat

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@bpaletz

@AIAYAF A7 Be involved, stay involved, keep working at it, it will make a difference. Still have to remind myself these things. #yafchat

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2:01 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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Jon Penndorf

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A7: Do something meaningful outside the office, share your skills w/ the community & grow your network #yafchat 2:00 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

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can make all the difference in the world. 1/2 #YAFchat Follow

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@HeatherTayl0r

#YAFchat Q6b: @fox_architects at has mentoring. It's refreshing to me and the high quality of the culture and employees is clear.

@adamschwartz42

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@AIAYAF

Heather Taylor

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1:54 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

Q6b: Chatters: What role does mentorship play in your career path? Could it be better? #YAFchat

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A6b Having great mentors has advanced my career path more quickly. I have also grown by mentoring others. #YAFchat

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Q7. Oh, & when in doubt, read children's books to your kids but take the lessons to your own life. #YAFchat 2:02 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017

Matt Dumich

Jon Penndorf

@SnarkitectDC

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AIA YAF

@mdumich

Q7: Don't hesitate to speak up & speak out, and keep moving forward when you get set back. #YAFchat

@srpc406 @ AIAYAF

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A7 Challenges you face only make you stronger & more capable Jedi­level wisdom right here. #YAFchat

A7: Do something meaningful outside the office, share your in the long run. #YAFchat twitter.com/SnarkitectDC/s…

2 9 2:04 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 2:03 PM ­ 15 Feb 2017 skills w/ the community & grow your network #yafchat

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LEADERSHIP PROFILE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AN INTERVIEW WITH KRISTINE HAMMOND

BY YU-NGOK LO Kristine has been with AIA Long Beach/South Bay since 2013. She came to the executive director position by way of her extensive training in non-profit management as an active member of the Junior League of Long Beach.

Kristine also works as the executive director for the East Anaheim Street Business Alliance, a Business Improvement District in Long Beach. She holds an MBA from Pepperdine University (2002), a Certificate in Legal Assistantship from University of California, Irvine (1995), and a BA in journalism from San Diego State University (1990). She lives in Long Beach with her husband Ric and their two teenage children.

What made you decided to join the AIA Long Beach/South Bay chapter as the executive director (ED)?

I learned about the executive director position in the fall of 2013. My husband’s firm won an award at the chapter’s annual Design Awards program, and they made the announcement that their executive director of eight years was stepping down.

Having a lot of experience in with non-profits and knowing that the part-time position would work great with my schedule, I decided to apply and was offered the job.

Tell us some of the programs of your chapter that you are passionately involved in?

Where do I start? I enjoy all our programs. But I would have to say that our Summer Solstice Architectural Bike Rides have been a lot of fun, and the turnout grows every year. We craft the route to encompass interesting architecture and include opportunities for the attendees to learn while on the ride. This way, they have fun AND earn CEUs! Our Design Awards program is very exciting. Since I am not an architect, this bi-annual program allows me to really see the high-caliber work of our members. Spending the better part of a day with the jurors, who are highly respected individuals in the world of architecture, and listening to them dissect projects and point out things that a layperson like myself wouldn’t normally appreciate, is a very cool experience.

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THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

Can you tell us about the Emerging Professional program in your chapter? How do you think you (as the ED) can help the chapter’s young architects and emerging professionals?

Outside of our Associates A.R.E. Study Group, we don’t formulate our programming for a particular age or experience group. With just 247 members, we are small in size compared to our neighboring AIA chapters. With limited resources, we try to provide programs that are of interest to all members.

However, the goal of our 3 Minutes of Fame program is to provide members with an opportunity to practice presenting their work, and this is appealing to those with less experience in pitching to clients. Essentially, the participants provide us with any number of PowerPoint slides, and we set them to a three-minute timer. The floor is theirs to provide the group, made up of peers and friends, with a presentation. And the presentation can be on anything, built or unbuilt, vacation photos, whatever. It is the presentation that is the opportunity because no one really practices this until they’re in front of a client. We get to see a lot of creativity in this annual program.

We also have our monthly BARchitecture social, where everyone is welcome to meet at a particular watering hole that also has some architectural interest and simply socialize.

These events are a great way for young architects to meet and have conversations with their more experienced counterparts in a very non-intimidating environment.

How does your chapter reach out to the general public? And what’s your role as the ED? My role as executive director is to help the members of the board of directors establish and meet their goals for the organization. This includes facilitating the programs they decide to provide for the members, along with the marketing and logistics for those events.

I manage the organization, which is a non-profit corporation that entails certain administrative and legal tasks.

SHELTERING

Anything else you would like to add?

Please share your successes with your local chapter! We are here to serve all the members and are happy to pass along the accomplishments of our younger members.■

What’s your advice to young architects and associates who would like to get involved in with their local chapter?

Come to events! You will always learn something new and meet new people. Even if you technically don’t need CEUs yet, attend those programs anyway because they will help you stay current with the industry and expose you to architects and other professionals you wouldn’t normally meet otherwise. Get involved with the AIA at the local, state or national level. There are so many opportunities beyond just serving on your local board of directors.

The AIA California Council has several committees, and AIA National has several Knowledge Committees. These are great ways to add another element to your career in architecture and keep you growing and learning.

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2017 EDITORIAL

APRIL

SHELTERING

CALENDAR

JUNE

JET SET

This issue focuses on housing affordability issues across the country. We will also look at how different communities all over the world address the homelessness problem and the global housing crisis.

This issue focuses on the global issues that affects the architecture profession here in the US, such as climate change and the global economy. We will also look at how firms across the country and overseas tackle these issues.

CONTENT DUE 2/01 PUBLICATION 1Q 2017

CONTENT DUE 5/01 PUBLICATION 2Q 2017

SEPTEMBER

DECEMBER

This issues focuses on the humanitarian work done by architects and look at their firm structure and business model. We will also report on topics such as building resiliency and disaster readiness.

This issue focuses on the theme of Certification and specialty credentialing. We will discuss the Pros and Cons of this heavily debated topics from different perspectives.

We will also take a look at the professional development within architecture and the continued education.

CONTENT DUE 8/01 PUBLICATION 3Q 2017

CONTENT DUE 11/01 PUBLICATION 4Q 2017

DESIGN WITH CONSCIENCE

ACRONYM SOUP

CALL FOR QUARTERLY SUBMISSIONS WE ARE CURRENTLY SOLICITING CONTENT CONNECTION welcomes the submission of ARTICLES, PROJECTS, PHOTOGRAPHY and other design content. Submitted materials are subject to editorial review and selected for publication in eMagazine format based on relevance to the theme of a particular issue.

CONNECTION content will also appear on AIA.org and submissions will be considered on a rolling basis.

If you are interested in contributing to CONNECTION, please contact the EditorIn-Chief at yungoklo@hotmail.com

CLICK HERE for past issues of

CONNECTION

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS All submissions are required to have the attachments noted below.

Text Submit the body of your text in a single, separate Word document with a total word count between 500-1000 words.

Format the file name as such: [yourlastname_article title.doc] Images Submit all images in JPEG format at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi RGB mode. Include captions to all images in the body of your e-mail transmittal.

All images must be authentic to the person submitting. Do not submit images with which you do not hold the rights.

Format the file name(s), sequentially, as such: [yourlastname_image1.jpg] Author Bio Submit a brief, two-sentence bio in the following format: [ yourlastname ] [ AIA or Associate AIA or RA ] is a [ your title ] at [ your company ] in [ city, state ]. [ yourlastname ] is also [ one sentence describing primary credentials or recent accomplishments].

Format the file name as such: [yourlastname_article title.doc] Author Photo Submit a recent headshot in JPEG format at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi grayscale in RGB mode.

Format the file name as such: [yourlastname_portrait.doc]

WHAT IS THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM? The Young Architects Forum is the voice of architects in the early stages of their career and the catalyst for change within the profession and our communities. Working closely with the AIA College of Fellows and the American Institute of Architects as a whole, the YAF is leading the future of the profession with a focus on architects licensed less than 10 years. The national YAF Advisory Committee is charged with encouraging the development of national and regional programs of interest to young architects and supporting the creation of YAF groups within local chapters. Approximately 23,000 AIA members are represented by the YAF. YAF programs, activities, and resources serve young architects by providing information and leadership; promoting excellence through fellowship with other professionals; and encouraging mentoring to enhance individual, community, and professional development.

GOALS OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM To encourage professional growth and leadership development among recently licensed architects through interaction and collaboration within the AIA and allied groups.

To build a national network and serve as a collective voice for young architects by working to ensure that issues of particular relevance to young architects are appropriately addressed by the Institute.

To make AIA membership valuable to young architects and to develop the future leadership of the profession.

AIA National Washington D.C.

GET CONNECTED PUT YOURSELF ON THE MAP THIS ISSUE FEATURES CONTRIBUTING ARTICLES FROM THESE MAPPED LOCATIONS.

A vibrant community AIA is a vibrant community of architecture and industry professionals that are transforming our profession. Members enjoy access to industry-best benefits, products and services that support practice and professional development.

Visit aia.org to learn more about how you can leverage all that we have to offer and become a member.

Join us.

YAF GET CONNECTED

1991

2017

YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF ADVANCING THE CAREERS OF YOUNG ARCHITECTS