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By the Book
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America teams with Habitat for Humanity to create a pattern book for affordable housing.
Text by Bethany Lyttle | Photos by Andy Olenick
This modest but well-proportioned Greek Revival farmhouse in Rochester, New York, is one of the first houses built using the pattern book developed by Habitat for Humanity and the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America.
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Situated overlooking a charming town square in the historic Susan B. Anthony neighborhoood of Rochester, New York, is a house whose classic columns and wraparound porch invite appreciative glances from neighbors and passersby. With its Greek Revival architectural details, the dwelling appears to have been here for decades. In truth, it is less than a year old. And what's more, it was built by female volunteers in only six months.
Seamlessly integrated into a neighborhood of houses that date to the turn of the twentieth century, the three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot house, which cost about $90,000 to build, is the product of a partnership between Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA). "The goal of the project," says Paul Gunther, president of ICA&CA, "is to usher the nobility, practicality, beauty, and dignity of classical design into the realm of affordable housing." The idea, which was initially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, incorporates the strictures and standards set out by Habitat for Humanity International but elaborates on design elements in ways that result in a house that contributes to community development by enhancing the neighborhood in which it is built.
To date, Habitat houses have been built with an emphasis on shelter. "What we recognized early on in the project was that shelter and good design needn't be mutually exclusive," says New York City architect Richard Cameron of Ariel, LLC, who conceived the design. "We were committed to finding a way to develop a well-designed house that could be offered at a Habitat price point." The design inspiration began with small Greek Revival farmhouses, which can be found in great numbers in areas of Upstate New York. "These houses are simple in style, but they have a real presence and an abiding authority," explains Cameron. "The style emphasizes proportion and scale rather than complex geometries, something that's important not only to a budget but to the volunteers, most of whom are taught on-site to do construction for the first time."
This bungalow-style Habitat for Humanity house is one example of how these new houses can blend into older communities.
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For architects who typically work with a budget of about $1,000 per square foot, designing for $80 per square foot was a challenge. Off-the-shelf rather than custom components had to be used, and all of the windows, doors, and flooring were stock. But in the end, attention to balance and proportion resulted in a house that anyone would be pleased to inhabit. "From the very first day, it made us so happy," says homeowner Nilsa Rivera, 24, the local resident who was selected to live there with her young daughter and fiance. Commenting on the vitality implicit in the lives now lived in this house, Gunther comments: "Nothing is more exciting than taking something out of the realm of ideas and into real-world applications. Habitat is an extraordinary organization, and it's so exciting to be able to contribute in new ways to its vision."
Beginning in fall 2007, this exciting new approach to affordable living spaces that are traditional and classically inspired will be made accessible in the form of a pattern book, which will feature hundreds of classical building designs for use by HFHI affiliates and, eventually, the general population. The Pattern Book will serve as a resource for anyone seeking practical yet beautiful architectural solutions on a tight budget. In its pages, designs, blueprints, and instruction via an electronic course offered through Habitat University will be made available. Designed to fit within the contextual profile of local stylistic vernaculars, the homes found in these pages are designed to enhance the neighborhoods in which they are built, express respect for local preservation efforts, and lend an element of beauty to the everyday experiences of the eventual homeowners.
Ray Gindroz, founder of Urban Design Associates, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is a national leader in innovative urban planning and the revival of pattern books, is directing this aspect of the project along with principal and key contributer, Eric Osth. "The pattern book is a way to give people ownership, to get them involved in the design," says Osth. "Pattern books have a rich and ancient history that dates back thousands of years. Whether one is hearkening to Vitruvius or to the Sears Houses of more recent decades, these books disseminate the basic principles of style and design."
A Pattern Book for Neighborly Houses will be published this fall.
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A Pattern Book for Neighborly Houses, which will be broken into chapters by architectural and regional style, will also include landscaping tips, site guidance, and density considerations. The book will be distributed at no charge to all Habitat affiliates, as well as to public and private community development agencies and individual policymakers who affect local land use at various levels of authority. Its pages will include step-by-step instructions for identifying the appropriate building types for a given neighborhood or location, images of exemplary existing houses and designs of new prototypes, and a variety of plans, styles, and motifs that can be selected for application. In addition, it will include a discussion of the role that individual houses play in the creation of neighborhoods, local traditions, and neighborhood profiles.
Eventually, the book will also be available to the general public online as a downloadable file, something that Osth considers timely. "By 2030, the United States is expected to double its square footage in building, and the majority of that building will occur in the middle and affordable housing market level. So we see this as an opportunity to create walkable, sustainable neighborhoods with genuine senses of community."
The Rochester house is at the forefront of this movement. In the early evening light, with its windows aglow (symbols of its relevance and vitality) it's difficult to imagine a nicer place to call home. "When you design a harmonious structure, it will have a certain feeling," says Cameron. "Whether its columns are inexpensive or expensive, the reference to antiquity remains, and in the hierarchy of buildings, this house shares a commonality with even the grandest architectural wonders."
Bethany Lyttle is a freelance writer living in New York.
For more information, visit www.theclassicist.org.
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