Research

Affordable Housing

• The generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30% of annual income on housing.
• Many families whose housing payments exceed this percentage cannot afford such necessities as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care.
• Well-designed developments can offer new opportunities for the least wealthy Americans, while creating real value and assets for their surrounding communities. (NBM)
• Good design can make a world of difference for the people who will live in the affordable housing you help build, and for the neighborhood surrounding it.
• Can provide the people who live there with everything we all expect from our home: comfort, security, and an atmosphere to thrive and do our best in.
• A project that strives for good design -i.e., which consciously and aggressively tries to meets user needs, enhance its neighborhood, respond well to its context and be built to last
• Generates occupant satisfaction and pride, sparking ongoing concern for and care of the project.
• Enhances and helps stabilize its neighborhood, primarily through the pride and commitment of its occupants and the respect afforded the project by the community
• Is easy to maintain and lasts longer.
• Appreciates in value, all other things being equal
• A project is well designed if it meets the following four basic criteria: Meets User Needs, Understands and Responds to its Context, Enhances its Neighborhood and is Built to Last
• Quality materials and finishes, on the other hand, contribute to the longevity of a project and to its ability to appreciate - not depreciate - in value. They also make a project easier to maintain, potentially reducing operating costs.
• "Building in" energy and environmental efficiency - through better windows, insulation and equipment - reduces operating costs over the life of the building.
• Not every product or system can be top of the line. In these circumstances, consider favoring exterior materials and finishes over interior ones when making tradeoffs. Likewise, consider favoring products and systems which are permanent and hard to replace over those that the occupant can replace on their own.
• Consider utilizing a variety of building forms and roof shapes rather than box-like forms with large, unvaried roofs.
• Maximize window number and size (within budget constraints) to enhance views and make spaces feel larger and lighter.
• Ensure that all building entries are prominent and visible and create a sense that the user is transitioning from a public to a semi-private area. Avoid side entries and those that are not visually defined. At all entries consider issues of shelter, security, lighting, durability, and identity.
• Ensure that stairs are durable, attractive and safe.
• Provide enough space to accommodate a large table and enough chairs for occupants and guests.
• Provide visual screening of bathrooms from the entry and from the living and dining areas.
• When more than one bedroom shares a bathroom, consider separating the lavatory from the toilet/tub area to allow use by more than one person at a time.
• Access to natural light in all bedrooms and the living room is essential and cross ventilation throughout the unit is encouraged.
• Consider layouts that allow natural light to the kitchen and allow the natural ventilation and lighting of bathrooms.
• Provide as much storage space as possible. At a minimum provide an amount of bulk storage commensurate with the size of the unit and the number and ages of residents it is expected to accommodate, including: coat closets in the entry area, large closets in the bedrooms, linen closets, pantry spaces, and storage rooms adjacent to exterior balconies or patios.
• Avoid materials that require frequent maintenance, especially by specialists. Consider materials that residents can maintain themselves.
• Provide floor coverings appropriate to use in room - generally use resilient flooring in kitchens, bathroom, laundries, dining rooms and entries.
• Evaluate selection of materials in terms of lifecycle and environmental cost. (AHDA)
• The economic expansion of the 1990s obscured certain trends and statistics that point to an increased, not decreased, need for affordable housing.
• The generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing.
• Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
• An estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more then 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing, and a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.
• The lack of affordable housing is a significant hardship for low-income households preventing them from meeting their other basic needs, such as nutrition and healthcare, or saving for their future and that of their families. (HUD)
  

Architecture plans/design

• Quarter-inch scale, generally used for residential planning, means that ¼ inch on a standard American ruler equals 1 foot of actual space and is written ¼” = 1’-0” (one inch would equal 4 feet of actual space)
• Walkways should be continuous from the driveway to the house, or from a detached garage to the house, and at least 36 inches wide
• Minimum width of a single door is 32 inches; minimum door height is 6 feet, 8 inches
• Door handles should be a bout 42 inches from the ground for most people , but measure for your own comfortable height
• Closet for outerwear should be located near the entrance door and be fitted with reachable shelves or compartments
• Hallways should be minimum 42 inches wide
• One operable door or window is required in each sleeping room below the fourth floor, and in basements, as follows: Minimum net area: 5.7 square feet; minimum openable height, 24 inches; minimum openable width, 27 inches; maximum sill height, 44 inches
• Minimum headroom for stairs is 6 feet, 8 inches above the nosing; the minimum width, 44 inches. Risers should be no higher than 7 inches ; treads a minimum of 4 inches
  Stair handrails should be 1 ¼ inches to 1 ½ inches in diameter and installed on both sides. Should extend 12 inches plus on tread beyond the bottom step railing height is to be 30 to 34 inches above stairs; spaced away from wall 1/1/2 inches minimum to 3 inches maximum
• Doors should not open into hallway
• Folding doors for closets provide easy access and visibility
• Raised toilet seat should be 18 to 19 inches from floor centered 18 inches from the side wall (BHE)
• Distinctiveness of a home lies in the balance between the site, the floor plan, the exterior, elements, and the details.
• Four essential features of every house that can have a lasting impact: how it occupies its site, how the floor plan maximizes efficiency and comfort for today’s living, how the exterior is balanced and blends naturally with the site (or neighborhood), how selected exterior and interior details transmit an enduring sense of quality care and thought.
• Make use of space underneath a stairway for a sitting area, or niche ( holds books) (DH)