From the Financial Times: "Even for normally unflappable New Yorkers, the news that Harlem’s Frederick Douglass Boulevard was named 'Neighbourhood of the Year' by the popular real estate blog Curbed was event-worthy. Urban amenities are still scarcer than the districts below 96th Street. But a recent spate of shop and hotel openings suggests a commercial critical mass may be forthcoming. Beyond the increase in amenities, Harlem’s most immediate appeal remains its affordability. According to Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of development marketing at Halstead Property, premium Harlem homes are priced between $500 and $700 per sq ft – compared with at least $1,000 per sq ft just 15 minutes south on the Upper West Side. That market – much like Harlem itself – is as vast as it is varied. At one extreme are Harlem’s historic brownstones – row-houses built mostly in the 1920s and often abandoned during the crack-fuelled blight of the 1980s. But amid the decay lies a level of architectural detail virtually unrivalled in most of Manhattan: neoclassical façades, elegant wooden banisters, hardwood floors – even colourful stained-glass windows. 'Because of the area’s poverty, these buildings were usually left untouched,' says Janet Forman, a journalist and film producer who bought an empty brownstone for just under $1m with her husband in 2006." Full story here. (Image credit: Jennifer Taylor.)
Debate the Future of Urban, Attached Housing
From the Atlantic Monthtly writer Christopher B. Leinberger: "Twenty years ago, urban housing was a bargain in most central cities. Today, it carries an enormous price premium. There will almost certainly be more of a balance between walkable and drivable communities — allowing people in most areas a wider variety of choices. This future is not likely to wear well on suburban housing. Many of the inner-city neighborhoods that began their decline in the 1960s consisted of sturdily built, turn-of-the-century row houses, tough enough to withstand being broken up into apartments, and requiring relatively little upkeep. By comparison, modern suburban houses are cheaply built." Full article here.
From Planetizen writer Todd Litman: "Alan Pisarski writes in a recent blog, 'It is clear that most people, excepting a small but often very loud minority, opt for lower density living when income permits.' Smart growth criticism rests primarily on this claim. Is it true? I investigate this question in my new report, Where We Want To Be: Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth. Households chose dispersed housing locations with little consideration to the resulting increase in transport costs. Increased congestion, rising fuel prices, health and environmental concerns are forcing consumers to be more rational. The current stock of large-lot housing should be adequate for decades, but the supply of small-lot and attached housing will need to approximately double by 2025 to meet consumer demands." Full article here.
From New Geography writer Wendell Cox: "The University of Utah's Arthur 'Chris' Nelson, indicated in an article entitled 'Leadership in a New Era' that in 2003, 75% of the housing stock was detached. By 2025 he predicts that only 62% of consumer will favor detached homes. This predication is largely made on the basis of 'stated preference' surveys which Emil Malizia of the University of North Carolina (commenting on the article) and others indicate may not accurately reflect the choices that consumers will actually make [see bar graph above]." Full article here. Peter Calthorpe predicts consumers will actually choose only 54% detached by 2050.
More About Bangkok Shophouse Transformation
More about a shophouse renovation in Bangkok from one of the designers, Rachaporn Choochuey of all(zone), in Domus magaine: "Bangkok's urban fabric today is full of underutilized shophouses in most of its prime areas. The project is an attempt to experiment with and transform the shophouse typology. Our transformation offers the new spatial arrangement where each floor can be accessed independently from the common stair (the key obstacle of the old shophouse typology is that each floor is accessed back stairs). Every floor is transformed into a live-work unit, which is quite rare in Bangkok. The division between commercial space and residential space is no longer needed. We explored the possibilities of how to make the facade double as a security screen as well as sun shading panels. Stefano came up with the idea of using common and very cheap concrete blocks found in very DIY buildings as a main feature of the facades." Full article here.
Commentary by Urban Choreography: "The shophouse that we are familiar with from all over the East and other countries, which we search out when we walk through our favorite cities, is an integral form that stretches back centuries and can be seen in the petrified houses of Pompeii, but has been virtually eradicated by new developments which seek to implant the Western shopping culture of Malls and Shopping Centers. The shophouse is, as Fabio Todeschini of the University of Cape Town’s Urban Design program has been pointing out, an ideal model for developing middle density urban areas in keeping with the local environments and familiar to most inhabitants."
Montreal Townhouse Green Renovation
From the Montreal Gazette: "Duncan Morrison, a veteran general contractor with a degree in urban planning, got together with entrepreneur and eco-housing enthusiast Paul King to look for properties in which they could invest. 'The Point St. Charles area is being gentrified - it's full of history, near the Atwater Market and near downtown,' said Morrison. So along with architect Eric Madjer, they decided to begin Phase 1 of their new business, eco-Habitat, focusing on green building technologies and as many eco-features as they could put into a 2,100-square-foot, three-storey space. They've done this by creating a house with an airtight building envelope due to soya insulation, a heat pump for heating and cooling, air exchanger so the tight seal can allow the transfer of fresh air, low flow faucets and shower heads and dual flush toilets, recycled materials in the metal siding and quartz kitchen counters and a rainwater collection system for garden irrigation. As much as possible, they've sourced all their building materials locally, including bricks, lumber, gyproc and flooring. The main floor houses an open plan living and dining area, filled with light streaming from the front windows - retained in their original form as a government building requirement. Creating an open space for living and dining did have its challenges, like where to put the hall closet, which they solved by creating a free-standing closet made of locally-sourced 12-inch cedar planks, as much a standing work of art as a functional enclosure." Full article here.
New Construction Townhouses in Scotland
From What House?, news about townhouses in Scotland: "Townhouses have gained in popularity over the last few years at many schemes of new homes and offer a nice middle ground between apartment living and large detached homes. There are no upstairs neighbours to hear clumping around and exterior maintenance is often lower than that of a detached property." The full article mentions several new townhouse models:
- The Forbes model at Cairnhill Part in Airdrie, developed by David Wilson Homes ("short walk from Airdrie town centre").
- The Drummond model at Kepplestone in Aberdeen, developed by Stewart Milne Homes ("walking distance of the city centre yet its landscaped grounds give it a secluded, private feel").
- The Islay model (pictured above) at Birchwood in Cowdenbeath, developed by Bellway Homes ("Amenities within walking distance include schools, supermarkets and the town's High Street").
- The Luss model at Route 1 West in Glasgow, developed by Redrow Homes ("good public transport links to the city centre").
- The Norbury model at The Sidings in Baillieston, developed by Barratt Homes.
Do They Still Make Brown Stones?
From the Wall Street Journal: "On a quiet Park Slope block, the rarest of buildings has taken shape — a brand new brownstone. A lot measuring 16 feet by 100 feet was big enough for just one house, and that's what developer Seth Brown and landowners Herb and Gayle Solomon have built — a home with four stories for a single family, an additional garden apartment, and a brownstone-colored facade. Charles Lockwood, author of "Bricks and Brownstone: The New York Townhouse 1783-1929," says that when the Park Slope area first took shape in 1860, the houses weren't usually built one at a time. 'Houses were put up by builders in groups, just like the suburbs,' Mr. Lockwood says. Modern engineering allowed some changes from a typical brownstone layout. For example, there's no load-bearing wall splitting the front parlor from the interior stairs. Features inside include a bathroom on each floor and tall front windows." Full article here. (Photo credit Natalie Keyssar.)
Astute readers will note that above it says "brownstone-colored", not actual brownstone. The New York Post reports on a proposed one-up: "For the first time in decades, if not a century, a townhouse made from actual brownstone quarried from its original source is being built in the borough that made the architectural style famous. Designer Tom van den Bout said his retro-chic townhouse would use stone sourced from Portland Brownstone Quarries in Connecticut. The new house on a long-vacant lot will likely get the necessary approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. After all, Van den Bout consulted neighbors to tweak the finished design and the Brooklyn Heights Association supports the plan. 'It’s an appropriate thing if you’re building a new building in a neighborhood dominated by brownstones,' said architectural historian Francis Morrone. Brownstone was a fad in the latter half of the 19th century, not only because architects in the Victorian age liked earth tones, but because it was cheap. As the city and its middle class grew, people started living further from work and developers built up Brooklyn as a suburban spot. Like the last housing bubble, homes began to get bigger, more pretentious — and more shoddily built. 'These were like the first McMansions and this was the first urban sprawl,' said Morrone." Full article here.
Lima, Peru Townhouses by Miami Architect
Miami architect Alejandro Zizold recently sent me some info about townhouses he designed in Lima, Peru: "The development is comprised of four townhouses in 'La Encantada de Lima', a neighborhood that was originally platted in the 1960s for large single-family estate homes. When designing the main façade of the units, close attention was paid to proportions as well as the relationship between volumes and voids. The main body of each townhouse is two stories and is flanked by a one-story element on one side and a void (side yard) on the other. All of these different elements are put together using geometric proportions to tie them together and create a playful overall façade for the development. The architectural vocabulary and interior layout of the townhouses are very formal and include well-defined spaces, ten-foot ceilings, and details which are reminiscent of colonial or neo-colonial architecture in historic areas in Chorrillos or nearby Barranco. Each townhouse includes three bedrooms, two and one half bathrooms, and den plus maid’s quarters within 1,700 square feet of living area."
Singapore Shophouse Sales and Prices Rise
From the Straits Times via the China Post: "It was the Asian financial crisis in 1997 that got investor Anil Thadani interested in the seemingly unglamorous idea of putting money into shophouses. Property prices then were at an all-time low and Thadani, 46, used his savings to snap up three adjoining units in Dunlop Street. Shophouses have become an increasingly attractive option for seasoned property investors, especially in the wake of government measures to cool the housing market, said Ong Kah Seng, property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield's senior manager for Asia-Pacific research. Rising office rents have also prompted small businesses to look for cheaper space, creating greater demand for alternative properties including shophouses. Cushman and Wakefield's analysis of Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data shows that there were 380 shophouse transactions last year, up 44 percent on the 263 sales in 2009. Ong said prices of shophouses went up 10 percent last year, with rental yields at about 4 percent. 'Rents of shophouses have held steadier in comparison to strata shops in malls, as shophouses are generally unique and the supply is limited,' Ong said." Full article here. (Photo credit Calvin Teo.)
DC Townhouse Lifestyle in Demand
From the Washington Examiner: "Once a stepping stone to a single-family house in the Washington suburbs, townhouses now are a housing destination. 'The townhouse has become a lifestyle decision. Both husband and wife work, so they want to take advantage of the weekend and not worry about yard work,' said Bob Youngentob, president of Bethesda-based builder EYA. 'We focus on urban locations, so our changes were not geared to making the townhouses larger but to provide more design flexibility within the footprint.' EYA aims for larger rooms within smaller, more efficient -- and thus more affordable -- floor plans, Youngentob said. Last year in Northern Virginia, a three-bedroom townhouse averaged $398,190, a single-family home $466,191. Chancellor's Row will offer front porches facing common areas where couples can enjoy the fresh air or kids can play in a parklike setting. Some luxury townhomes, such as the New York-style Brownstones at Potomac Greens [pictured], offer four stories and private elevators." Full article here.
Kemp Workforce Excellence Includes Townhouses
The latest issue of Urban Land magazine includes an article, not yet available online, about developments of affordable housing near employment centers that in 2010 were named Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence, two of which included townhouses. Capitol Quarter Phase I, occupying 4 blocks in Washington, DC was developed by EYA with participation by Forrest City Residential, Urban-Atlantic, DC Housing Authority, and HUD. It includes 77 market-rate townhouses, which subsidized workforce and public housing units "indistinguishable from the exterior". The article also mentions Fire Clay Lofts in Denver, CO developed by Urban Ventures. "The project has attracted a pioneering resident base to the traditionally industrial
neighborhood just north of Denver's central business district. The resident profile is as eclectic as the unit mix. Many operate businesses from their homes, including many people from the creative fields." Join ULI!
Good for Urban Development: Double the Smarties
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tZ24GyFhDY]From reader Chavela Gonzalez, USA Today reports: "In more than two-thirds of the nation's 51 largest cities, the young, college-educated population in the past decade grew twice as fast within 3 miles of the urban center as in the rest of the metropolitan area — up an average 26% compared with 13% in other parts. In 2000, young adults with a four-year degree were about 61% more likely to live in close-in urban neighborhoods than their less-educated counterparts. Now, they are about 94% more likely. 'This is a real glimmer of hope,' says Carol Coletta, head of CEOs for Cities, a non-profit consortium of city leaders that commissioned the research. 'Clearly, the next generation of Americans is looking for different kinds of lifestyles — walkable, art, culture, entertainment.'" In my city, Miami, the number of 25- to 35-year-olds with a college degree in downtown increased 68%. This bodes well for urban real estate development, which will need to be channeled into its most sustainable form: small, attached, prototypical, adaptable-use buildings. Full article here, unrelated video via Jonathan Miller.
Behind the Townhouse: Space 4 Architecture
Michele Busiri-Vici of Space 4 Architecture graciously sent me some photos of their townhouse renovation completed in 2010, as well as some insights into their design: "The client used to live in an open loft in Tribeca. Our motto for the project was 'a loft on 4 floors'. We achieved that with the open-ness of the floor plans, continuous visual connection between floors, and no boundaries between inside and outside at the ground floor – the glass wall can be raised to open the kitchen and garden into a continuous space.
"The rear elevation is composed of two concrete side walls, exposed blackened steel beams at each floor, and in between floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall glass, framed with wood. I like to be true with my design, therefore I love showing the structure when possible. From outside you see the exact volume of each floor, as clean and clear as possible. I hate return walls or as they sometimes call them, 'cheek' walls. The materials have weathered very well. I like the wood frames around the glazing better now than when they were installed. Of course privacy was an issue, so we specified huge motorized shades, solar and blackout, for each room.
"The facade is traditional and the client wanted to keep it that way. We liked the idea of having such a facade and then walking into a completely different space. Therefore when adding the 4th floor we matched the facade details of the floors below. We painted the whole facade a dark grey, just to make it a bit rock-n-roll."
Small & Urban in Miami: MDC Culinary Building
Miami Dade College recently completed a new building at the downtown campus for its Miami Culinary Institute. Lest you think Townhouse Center is becoming a first-rate food blog, I will explain: the building is the first new small, attached building in downtown Miami in years. Designed by PBSJ with interiors by STA Architectural Group, it is 50 ft wide and 8 stories tall, see photos in the Flickr pool. The designers and contractors struggled with, and solved, the challenges of building on a tight spot between existing buildings, requiring efficient floorplans and vertical circulation. Last week, the Director of MCI, John Richards, gave me a tour and explained that at first they thought the small footprint would be limiting, but then they realized that smaller class sizes and efficient use of resources would be key to the program's identity. The building is completing its LEED certification, and is on track to be gold. Equipped with state-of-the-art video and internet capabilities so chefs from around the world can teach virtually, is it the New World Center of food? Regardless, the Miami Culinary Institute building is a reminder that large contributions to urban culture do not require large "black swan" buildings like stadiums and conference centers.
Julianne Moore for Traditional Cities?
From a blog called New World Economics by Nathan Lewis, an excerpt of his post on March 20, 2011: "Where did Suburban Hell come from? Why do we keep making it? Surprisingly, the answer is mostly irrational. We did it because we like farmhouses. It is just a fascination, the way some people like cats. We need to be able to start to envision what our life in the Traditional City might be like, and to be able to say, yes, that is even better than a farmhouse, an SUV, and a 90-minute commute. Maybe the best way to do this is to take specific example, courtesy of the actress Julianne Moore. JM's house is for sale. If you were to say to Mr. Suburban Hell, 'What do you think of living in Greenwich Village, in a big old brownstone with a big backyard, next door to Julianne Moore?' Little different proposition, eh? You have to make the mental step -- it is only a mental step, there is no physical component -- from the Suburban Hell picture in your head to a Traditional City picture in your head. Then, 2200 square feet with no car isn't an unendurable hardship, it is the pinnacle of luxe." At the end of the post are links to dozens more by Mr. Lewis on the subject of the Traditional City.
Skinny Townhouses: Pet Architecture in NYC
Small, narrow buildings on leftover space between larger ones -- called "pet architecture" in the book by Studio Bow-Wow -- are the subject of recent posts on the blog Scouting New York. Regarding 420 W 58 St pictured: "Exactly half a brownstone (12.5 feet), gloriously smooshed between two much larger apartment buildings. A number of readers have written me that the city used to sell lots in 25′ increments, and that developers would sometimes build two 'twin' houses, each measuring 12.5′, on a single property." Regarding 19 W 46 St: "This renovated brownstone, wedged between two much larger buildings, is only 12.5 feet wide and does not connect with either of the neighboring properties. The popular Turkish restaurant Akdeniz is on the bottom floor, while the second floor is occupied by the Antonio and Antoinette Beauty Salon. I was told that the upper floors are all apartments." But the skinniest building in New York City, according to The Real Deal, is 75 1/2 Bedford St: "75½ is only nine-and-a-half-feet wide on the outside, eight-and-a-half-feet wide on the inside, and 32 feet deep. Each of the four floors, including the basement, measures less than 300 square feet. The list of former owners and renters reads like a who's who of New York. There's the cartoonist William Steig and the anthropologist Margaret Mead. But the home's most notable resident, and the name etched into the plaque on its façade, is Edna St. Vincent Millay, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet."
Dwell Magazine Reports on Townhouses
The latest issue of Dwell includes an article -- not available online so subscribe already! -- by Aaron Britt about the 100K House two-townhouse project designed by Interface Studio Architects and developed by Postgreen Homes in Philadelphia's East Kensington neighborhood. Teaser: "East Kensington's cashe of cheap, vacant lots, proximity to the hip Fishtown neighborhood, and nearby public transit make it an ideal laboratory for inexpensive urbanity. 'The box comes first!' was both a rallying cry during the design phase and a fact of life during construction. 'If we do a little less, can that actually be cooler than cheaping out?', said Brian Philips of Interface. What's not visible from the street, though, is the LEED Platinum certification -- or its 2010 LEED for Homes Project of the Year award. But the real selling point is that the 100K House came in at just $81 per square foot in construction costs. 'Until pretty recently, people imagined that the value of a home was tied to large square footage', says developer Courtney Ludeman, but Postgreen's thinking -- perpetually that of a citizen-developer -- extends beyond what it takes to make a sustainable home to what it takes to make a sustainable East Kensington." The issue also includes a photo of the 9-townhouse Cemetery Road project in Sheffield, England designed by Project Orange, so subscribe to Dwell already!
Apartment Therapy Reports on Shophouses
Shophouses may be reaching Sheen-esque over-exposure: after spreading to the Balkans and the U.S. (at least Austin), shophouses are getting love from Apartment Therapy writer Anne Reagan: "Much like the bay window defines San Francisco or the brownstone defines New York, the Singapore shophouse represents not only an important architectural style but a way of life from this country’s past. Traditionally the first floor or ground level was used as the place to conduct business. The 'five-foot way' ensures a covered area for the shoppers to peruse and protects people and goods from strong sun and rain. Farther back on the ground level, behind the shop area, would be the family kitchen. The second floor would usually be the family rooms and sleeping quarters. As the population grew and changed, the purpose of the shophouse changed with it. Some became funeral parlours, clubhouses for wealthy businessmen, and many were divided into multiple businesses such as coffeehouses and tailor shops. I gathered much of the above information from reading Singapore Shophouse (published by the National Archives of Singapore). If you can’t visit Singapore in person be sure to check out some modern uses of the old shophouse like the Scarlet Hotel [pictured], 149 Neil Road conservation house, The Saff Hotel, and Hotel 1929." Full article here.
Thai Shopouse Art Gallery Wins Restoration Award
From Bangok Post writer Pattara Danutra: "A new provincial art gallery was launched in February in Ratchaburi's Muang district, about 120km from Bangkok. Its odd name, Tao Hong Tai: d Kunst, represents the dual background of its owner, Wasinburee Sukpanichvoraparch. The building of Tao Hong Tai: d Kunst is an artwork itself. Only a few days after its inauguration, this historical structure was honoured by the Association of Siamese Architects for its distinguished effort in restoring old architecture. Combining wood, concrete and metal as raw materials, this three-storey structure has been modified from a two-storey Sino-Portuguese shophouse, with a history that can be traced to the reign of King Rama V. Chatree Ladalalitsakul, the architect supervising the renovation process, is a member of the team which designed the new parliament office and is a regular award winner in the category of traditional-style architecture. Its first floor comprises volumes of art publications for free reading. The second is a small cafe and a corner for memorabilia, including a selection of ceramic items. Meanwhile, half of the third floor is a room for the in-residence artist." Full article here.
Rowhouse Magazine on Pomander Row in Washington
From the original rowhouse website, RowHouse Magazine, and its founder Suzanne Dreitlein: "Behind the Georgetown house where John and Elizabeth Edwards lived, there is a quaint row of small homes called Pomander Walk. According to Urban Turf D.C., 'one-bedroom houses are a rare niche product of 19th century D.C., built to house workers who needed small, cheap living options.' These small treasures not only preserve historic architecture but offer modest-income homeowners a chance to purchase a home in more exclusive neighborhoods. As with many historic dwellings, sometimes a dream house does not come in dream house condition. Fortunately, a historic, brick row house is a great starting point for anyone who wants to turn a row house in the city into a cozy and welcoming home." Full article here.
Madrid Townhouses & Almuradiel Prototype Housing
My recent visit to Madrid revealed only a few townhouse neighborhoods, but the day before I flew home, the folks at Estudio Entresitio graciously made some time for me to discuss their projects and design philosophy: applying simple geometric rules to create spaces that assemble into a unified design. They have designed a pair of townhouses in Madrid, but more interesting is their 43 Viviendas project in Almuradiel, Ciudad Real, which was designed by applying geometric rules to break a large site into 43 townhouses, and each townhouse into spaces and voids. But they also applied a human touch, differentiating north- and south-facing units to maximize daylight.