The American Institute of Architects just presented its 2019 Housing Awards. 12 housing projects were recognized across four categories.

Some of the projects I have written about before -- such as the Tiny Tower in North Philadelphia. But most of the projects haven't been covered on this blog. One of my favorites, among the winners, is the Oak Park Housing project in Sacramento by Johnsen Schamling Architects.

I like that the massing is simple and that it's a dense -- 6 unit -- urban infill project in an area of Sacramento that has been struggling with disinvestment for many decades. According to the architect, it is one of the first residential projects in the neighborhood since the Oak Park Riots of 1969.

Three of the homes front onto the main street. And the other three front onto and are accessed from a rear alley. Each home is just over 1,500 square feet. The project also had "an ambitiously limited construction budget", so let's call it an example of good design not having to necessarily cost a lot of money.

I'm guessing their land costs were reasonable.

Photo: John J. Macaulay

ISA Architects recently completed a project in North Philadelphia called Tiny Tower.

It is a 6-level, 1,250 square foot single family home built on a small 12' x 29' lot. That's about the footprint of two parking spaces. It feels like a house you might find in Japan.

Its siting is on a secondary street, akin to a laneway here in Toronto. As you can tell from the above picture, the adjacent parcels are largely undeveloped and/or used for parking.

The height of the house is 38 feet and the section looks like this:

The kitchen is in the basement (along with a light well). The living room is on the main floor (entrance to the house shown below). The third level is a workspace. And the rest of the floors are bedrooms. There's also a rooftop patio. All of the circulation happens on one side of the house.

I don't consider 1,250 square feet to be a small house and so this post is not about that. "Tiny Tower" does, however, feel like an accurate name.

I like these kinds of projects because they are about taking something with little perceived value -- in this case a small parcel of land -- and creating something cool.

That's how you create the most value. You have to discover and do things that most other people are overlooking.

Images: ISA Architects

The American Institute of Architects just presented its 2019 Housing Awards. 12 housing projects were recognized across four categories.

Some of the projects I have written about before -- such as the Tiny Tower in North Philadelphia. But most of the projects haven't been covered on this blog. One of my favorites, among the winners, is the Oak Park Housing project in Sacramento by Johnsen Schamling Architects.

I like that the massing is simple and that it's a dense -- 6 unit -- urban infill project in an area of Sacramento that has been struggling with disinvestment for many decades. According to the architect, it is one of the first residential projects in the neighborhood since the Oak Park Riots of 1969.

Three of the homes front onto the main street. And the other three front onto and are accessed from a rear alley. Each home is just over 1,500 square feet. The project also had "an ambitiously limited construction budget", so let's call it an example of good design not having to necessarily cost a lot of money.

I'm guessing their land costs were reasonable.

Photo: John J. Macaulay

ISA Architects recently completed a project in North Philadelphia called Tiny Tower.

It is a 6-level, 1,250 square foot single family home built on a small 12' x 29' lot. That's about the footprint of two parking spaces. It feels like a house you might find in Japan.

Its siting is on a secondary street, akin to a laneway here in Toronto. As you can tell from the above picture, the adjacent parcels are largely undeveloped and/or used for parking.

The height of the house is 38 feet and the section looks like this:

The kitchen is in the basement (along with a light well). The living room is on the main floor (entrance to the house shown below). The third level is a workspace. And the rest of the floors are bedrooms. There's also a rooftop patio. All of the circulation happens on one side of the house.

I don't consider 1,250 square feet to be a small house and so this post is not about that. "Tiny Tower" does, however, feel like an accurate name.

I like these kinds of projects because they are about taking something with little perceived value -- in this case a small parcel of land -- and creating something cool.

That's how you create the most value. You have to discover and do things that most other people are overlooking.

Images: ISA Architects