Affordable Housing | Berwickshire | Scotland | Oliver Chapman Architects

This development of 12 new 2 person flats was commissioned by Berwickshire Housing Association, and is proposed on land opposite the award winning Todlaw Supported housing by Oliver Chapman Architects.
The design is a variation on the popular victorian ‘colony’ house where the upper flat is accessed by and external stair. The external walls of each block are treated as two interlocking shells, an outer shell of dark blue engineering brick facing the open landscape, and a softer Siberian larch clad shell relating to the supported housing, both surfaces are visually separated by the stairs to the first floor.........more

Alligator House | New Orleans Designed By Buildingstudio

This affordable home is being built as part of the Post-Katrina rehousing effort in New Orleans. buildingstudio approached one of its clients in Boulder, CO to see if they'd be willing to contribute toward an affordable home for a Katrina refugee. Not only did the clients generously give their own money, they went into their community and raised additional funds towards the cost of construction. When finished, Neighborhood Housing Services who promotes and markets low-cost properties will offer the house at a vastly reduced rate.

The design is an 872 SF, two-bedroom, bath-and-a-half scheme for Central City, an impoverished inner-city neighborhood situated between the CBD and the Uptown Garden District. Though Central City's infrastructure was severely deteriorating before the storm�and it's had more than its share of drug-related crime�a tough community fortitude abounds. Infill housing is actively taking place on several fronts. Non-profits and faith-based groups have built several dozen homes for new residents hoping to move back. Most structures are either panelized or modular with little concern for design. And while the best intentions went into these, they are disappointingly constructed which limits their lifespan and undermines the long-term viability of the area. Tulane University School of Architecture has also completed three design/build projects in the area as tools to research affordable construction strategies.

This 13-ft. wide home is based on a common typology in the New Orleans area the "Single", meaning a one-family shotgun residence designed to fit the long narrow lots typical in the City. The front stoop is key in neighborhoods like Central City since so much community involvement takes place on the street. Metal grate steps stretch across the front of the house for casual sitting while visiting with neighbors. The street-facade is clad in translucent white insulated plastic panels which are backlit to provide indirect lighting both for the exterior and interior living area. The second bedroom has a rolling wall along the hallway to open it up when privacy is not a concern. While considered low-cost, the budget still allows for engineered hardwood flooring and ceramic tile in the bathrooms. Exterior walls and roof are clad in factory-painted, preformed metal siding for ease of maintenance........more

Affordable Single Family Prototype House | R House | Syracuse New York | Della Valle Bernheimer

Location: New York State
Square Footage: 1,100
Type: Residential
Year: 2010

R-House was created in full collaboration with Architecture Research Office. The prototype residence that our two design firms envisioned for Syracuse, New York, is called “R-House”, a winner of Syracuse University’s “From the Ground Up” competition, held in conjunction with the Syracuse Center of Excellence and Home Headquarters as part of their initiative to revitalize the Near Westside neighborhood of Syracuse. R-House presents an affordable, innovative paradigm for minimal to net-zero energy consumption embodied in architecture that is meant to nurture the spirit and engage the community as much as it is meant to perform in terms of cost and sustainability. Wrapped within its iconic exterior are expansive and luminous spaces that require only the equivalent energy of a hair dryer for heating. This efficient plan can be tailored to meet the needs of different families and is readily adaptable as these needs change over time. Designed for high economic and practical performance, R-House strengthens the physical and social structure of the Westside neighborhood.R-House won an Award of Merit from the AIA NY Chapter, 2010.........more

Budget Home | Hendrikx Diane

The owners of this house decorated their home with as little budget as possible. Everything is second-hand, inexpensive or homemade.
Photographs: Hendrikx Diane
and OWI

Affordable Home | Coutras, France | Lacaton and Vassal

Extremely long and narrow and stretching along a local road, the plot of land is situated in a predominantly farming area that is little built up. The extremely flat lie of the land allows the sky to dominate.
The house is made up of two juxtaposed horticultural greenhouses, each one 150 m2, with a metal frame and transparent polycarbonate sheeting. The outer walls can open up to 50% by means of sliding doors, some opaque ones of these permitting certain rooms to be in darkness.
The greenhouses are equipped on the basis of a simple, intelligent technology enabling the indoor climate to be regulated. This technology controls the ventilation panels in the roof, at the behest of the inside temperature. They close automatically in the event of rain and wind.
Rapidly adopted by the clients, the greenhouse option has enabled us to construct bigger spaces at a low cost, while offering numerous possibilities for their utilization and adaptation, plus a varied set of atmospheres and sensations.

Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal, architects
with Emmanuelle Delage, Christophe Hutin, Sylvain Menaud, architects collaborators
You can visit Lacaton & Vassal website here