Housing Websites (Precedents galore)

A pair of gems, University of Oregon Professors Michael Fifield & Mark Gillem, put together this gem of a competition just last year. The resulting website is jam-packed with information and presentations by a myriad of talented designers.

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I'm just two weeks from graduation and I just discovered a site that could been a big help over the past three years. HousingPrototypes.org is a fairly dry site but it is packed with precedents organized by architect, location, or housing type.

Studio Booklet Pages

As part of our final (one week away) we were asked to design a summary page for our final project. A pair of possible designs are presented here. The final page will be approximately four inches by eight inches.

Am I done yet?

I don't know that I'm done yet... I'm not done yet... but I need to put my final presentation boards and booklets together in the next... 10 days! Yeah, flaws and all, I have to be done.

Several Days of SketchUp

Finally the townhouse units, located at the west side of the property, are complete. Well, 95% complete. Next step will be to put the finishing touches on the courtyard design and the commercial space. Oh... and the street edge. Oh... and the garage.


Once the SketchUp model is done I can finish up my construction documents, details, renderings and putting together my final presentation. This is a good thing!

* 22 days to go *

The New Zoo Part 2

I spent a good portion of the Sunday and all of today re-designing and rendering my live-work units on the Southwest corner of the Eastlake Zoo site. Although it was a rewarding change and they're looking better than ever, I'm still feeling pretty far behind.

* 25 days to go * impending sense of doom *

Just For Fun

Virtual Final Presentation - Bish & Peter

Our final presentation in Minimal Dwelling is Monday.
(a'la SketchUp)

Courtyard Prescedents

Project: The Vaux & The Merrick
Architect: AMAA & Shapiro-Didway
Location: Northwest Portland, Oregon

Temporary Housing Project

Click image for a larger view
For Professor Fifield's Minimal Dwelling Class
Temporary Housing
The ideas behind our temporary structures are as follows. A bundle of materials is sent to a site in need of emergency housing. Local materials like concrete block or mud brick can be used for the foundation and the shipped materials are lightweight, affordable, and low impact environmentally. The shipping container itself, a canvas bundle bound with cable, can be used as part of the structure so no packing materials are needed.

Thanks to project partners and UO Architecture classmates Wyatt Hammer & Eric Lindstrom.

Newer Eastlake Neighbors

Click the image for a larger view. Click the text for a related website with more information on each Eastlake property.

2300 Eastlake

2324 Eastlake

1500 Eastlake

1811 Eastlake
Photo By: THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES

2245 Eastlake

Eastlake - Thesis/Intent Revisited

Hypothesis
The Eastlake community is at a turning point. As real estate rates increase affordable housing is disappearing and many home buyers and renters are being forced to look elsewhere for housing. Meanwhile, the diverse living and working conditions of a slow-growth, working class community, with multiple small business and property owners, is at risk. As multiple smaller properties are purchased by large developers they are being consolidated and renewed with large office blocks and condominiums. The resulting changes to the fabric of the Eastlake threatens the existing character and culture resulting in the gentrification of its native and historic inhabitants.

Thesis
They key to maintaining the culture and variety of Seattle’s Eastlake is in providing and preserving a diversity of living and working conditions within the existing fabric and scale of the community. These goals can be achieved in a number of ways.

1. Provide a diversity of housing types for a variety of incomes including affordable housing.
   
2. Provide a diversity of commercial building types and functions to attract and employ a variety business types and people.
   
3. Design in ways that are sympathetic to a variety of transportation types including bus, light-rail, commercial vehicles, automobile, bicycle and pedestrian.
   
4. Create structures that fit the existing fabric both in scale (massing), materials, and character.
   
5. Create spaces that provide opportunity for community and human interaction.
   
6. Provide support in the form of shared local services.
   
7. Environtmental/Green Design
   
8. Create places of pause by providing spaces where individuals can find inspiration and refuge from daily life. Make it humane!

SOURCES INCLUDE: Eastlake Neighborhood Plan

The American Flophouse Revisited (Boards)

Click image for a larger view
Its refreshing to see how much can be accomplished in a short time when working with a capable team. Thanks again to classmates Eric Lindgrin & Wyatt Hammer.

The American Flophouse Revisited (Research)

The following notes are derived from The HOME House Project : the future of affordable housing, by David J. Brown and Designing for the Homeless: Architecture that Works, by Sam Davis.

The idea of shelter is as core to America’s understanding of freedom and citizenship as are the rights defined within the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Even so, we as a country do not observe shelter, even in its most basic form, as a right afforded to everyone. This lack of support occurs at all levels, be it federal, state, city, or social, further exacerbating the issue of homelessness in America. We wish to find out what causes homelessness, who are the homeless, and how can architecture help?

What causes homelessness?
- Destruction of post-war housing projects
- Labor mobility
- Pursuit of jobs
- Movement to non-union states
- Outsourced labor
- Shortage of affordable housing
- Increasing gap between minimum wage and a living wage
- Growing population
- Gentrification of downtowns
- Longer lifespan of chronically ill
- Dwindling number of mental health facilities
- Weakening family ties
- Drug epidemic

Who does the design of shelter matter to?
- The homeless
- Those who work with them
- The neighboring community
- Society at large

Emergency short-stay shelter is a critical first step, but there is also a need for transitional housing for those who can return to the market economy, and permanent housing with support services for those who cannot.

How can architecture help?
1. Create facilities that sustain the dignity of those who have fallen on hard times
2. Well designed facilities can encourage those who are usually reluctant to seek services
- Many homeless have had previous experiences in other oppressive facilities such as prison or mental-health centers
3. Can help to manage modest budgets to create safe and welcoming places
4. Can play a critical role in overcoming communities’ reluctance to homeless facilities
- In order to be successful, homeless facilities must be:
- situated in residential and commercial areas
- near public transportation
- near jobs, social services, and schools
- The consensus among social workers is that the more remote the facility, the less effective it will be
5. Help policymakers and general public understand that it costs more to care for a homeless family in a shelter than in permanent housing, and that building permanent supportive housing for mentally ill homeless pays for itself through the reduction in services.
6. Create choice for the homeless

Choice and self-determination are the cornerstones of dignity; giving a homeless person a diversity of spaces within a single facility aids in restoring this dignity

Who are the homeless?
- 40% are families, the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. These are single parents, often young women and their children.
- 22% are employed. Some of these homeless earn minimum wage while others earn substantially more.
- 10% of homeless are seniors, but their numbers are steadily growing. Their reliance on fixed incomes limits their accessibility to market-rate housing, while many have no income at all and also suffer from poor health.
- 10 to 25% are continually homeless
- 10% live in rural communities
- 30% of the homeless are substance abusers. For some substance abuse contributed to their homelessness, while other began using in response to the despair of being homeless
- 30% of the homeless have some form of mental illness, including depression. These people are also some of the most resistant to using shelter facilities - those who distrust authority, cannot abide by rules, and feel threatened by group living

This last group, those resistant to traditional methods of facility treatment, is who we want to focus on for our design project.

The American Flophouse Revisited (Goals/Statagies)

Goals
We want to design a new approach to the traditional flophouse, one that meets contemporary standards for safety while supplying very low-cost temporary housing to those individuals who will not use the services of group shelter facilities.

In proceeding with this particular area of housing, we understand that this type of shelter is not ideal when observing long-term goals of homeless rehabilitation. For many homeless, the traditional movement from assisted living in highly organized facilities to transitional housing and then to market-rate homes is an effective strategy and has worked well in many cities. This being said, there remains a significant portion of homeless who will not use these services, due in large part to previous experiences in other institutions, be them mental, correctional, or otherwise. Simple accommodations, for an individual, that provide shelter from the weather and some level of safety and security are the paramount concerns.

Strategies
1. Develop a core module for the individual that supplies a place for rest, some storage for personal belongings, and a sense of privacy.
2. Develop an arrangement of these modules that maximizes the use of a given space, while supplying necessary egress space and restroom/washroom needs.
3. Develop a materials palette for these modules that will make them affordable to construct, easy to move and erect, and resistant to abuse
4. Develop a way to maximize ventilation and daylighting of these modules while providing some form of safe enclosure at the top.

Midterm Review - Axon & Review Summary

AXON - FACING NORTHWESTClick image for a larger view
This is probably the most "telling" image expressing what I'd like to do with the site.

The ~40' x ~90' courtyard space extends North-South to bring in as much southern light as possible. The units on the south are ~15' x ~30' live-work townhouses. The eastern-most live-work townhouse is 2-stories to allow more light to enter the courtyard while the other three are three stories.

The near (east) row of buildings facing the street are ~15' x ~40' commercial at the ground with ~15' x ~30' studio apartments above. The upper two floors are two-story lofts (also with a ~15 x ~30' floorplate).

It was suggested, during my midterm review, that a "rentable" space be provided for visiting relatives. I feel that a studio unit or two could be reserved for this type of use.

It was also suggested that the idea of preserving Zoo Tavern be abandoned as employees and customers are not likely to return after a year of demoliton and construction. While I agree that this would likely be the case I do feel that a commercial space can be designed to accommodate a new Zoo Tavern or similar business. The other commercial spaces will be equipped to house, ideally, small retail stores, groceries, and/or eateries.

Midterm Review - Floorplate Diagrams

Getting it all to fit together has been something of a challenge. I'm attempting to work in 15x30' modules but a 15 foot wide stuio with a 3' set of stairs leaves only about 10' of wall-to-wall space once utilities and wall thicknesses are accounted for. I may have to expand a bit to 16 or 18 foot units. This will diminish the density a bit but as long as I am over 40/acre I'll be happy.

The site is about 102' by 120'. Current unit count of 23 unites on 12,240 sf (or 80 units per acre) is certainly quite dense.

It might be beneficial to separate the units to allow air/light to pay between but the party-walls certainly make things more affordable in both construction and maintenance. (not to mention the heating/cooling benefits).

Midterm Review - Massing Model

The site is on the NW corner of Eastlake and Lynn in Seattle on the site of the Eastlake Zoo Tavern. This model shows my concept model at the center facing Northeast. The freeway is aproximately two blocks up the hill to the east and Lake Union is downhill three blocks to the west. The shadows are currently set for 5pm on October 20th.

Key elements of this model are the buildings to the north and south of the Eastlake Zoo. The northern building runs flush to the property line providing a 40' wall to the north. The southern building, across Lynn, is a new 40' condominium building called the Eastlake Lofts. (Unfortunately... it looks like that name is already taken...)

Midterm Review - Site Sections

SECTION FACING WESTThe intent is to provide a compressed entrance from the street that will provide an "explosive" feeling when entering the courtyard. A green canopy and colorful materials in the courtyard should provide a strong contrast against the grey Seattle streets.


SECTION FACING SOUTHI'm concerned that 40' is a bit tight but with only 100' to work with it would be difficult to widen the courtyard while still providing 20+ units (~60/acre) on site.

Despark Hotel

I discovered the Despark Hotel while searching for information on Historic Flophouse design and Japanese Capsule Hotels. These appear to be concrete sewage pipes converted into minimalist hotel rooms. An ingenious use of recycled materials but I'm not sure how secure I would feel sleeping in a giant cylandar with only a small portal for light when the door is closed.

Babel Fish Translation:

Reopening
With the season opening on May those park hotel starts 4 as a new form of hospitality equipment in the public area already 2007 into its third season.
As offer to everyday life refugees, culture travelers, cyclists... or those the one little distance to the daily surrounding field and a new "inspirative" environment to individual horizon the extension search, would like to offer those park hotel with its on substantial reduced luxury, temporary, comfortable, uncomplicated at home.

All love and until soon.
Gunda Wiesner and Andreas's bunch

(I love Babel-fish-type translation... always good for a chuckle)

For more information:
Despark Hotel - Official Website