Patrick O'Carrigan’s Post

Affordable Housing Month   Multiple factors contribute to the rising cost of housing, making it unaffordable for many people. Labor costs, the cost of building supplies, and limitations surrounding land use slow the creation of new housing. Housing costs continue to soar as the demand for homes surpasses the available supply.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has defined affordable housing as “housing that costs 30 percent or less of the occupant’s gross income”. KMA has been working on Affordable Housing projects since the 80s. We have preserved over 10,000 existing affordable housing units. We have completed hundreds of affordable housing projects. All of our affordable housing projects have sustainable initiatives. KMA has completed affordable housing projects all across the East Coast. . . . #affordablehousing #architecture #design #apartments #home #community #sustainability 

#AgeInPlace on a budget? In cities lacking #agesafe #housing, innovative steps are being taken to #designspaces affordably. #Retirees aiming to revamp #olderhomes may encounter complications with rules, permits and bringing homes up to code. Solutions like using #affordable materials and forward thinking smart design can make the process smoother. #Revamping now can meet modern needs without breaking the bank later. Older homes demonstrate that aging in place is achievable through creative design and attention to detail. Become a member of the National Aging In Place Council (NAIPC) to help us create change in our #agingcommunities. Architecture by Anya Moryoussef Want to know more about #universaldesign, #aginginplace, #communityconnections and #marketingtips with #aginghomeowners? Join me at the National Association of Home Builders/ NAHB International Builders' Show to learn more about it.

Philip Thalis says 'We need mid-rise buildings four to six storeys that are no taller than the trees. People living in walkable green streets, with public parks and transport nearby'. It seems that architecture and law are at one on this point. Legally, we need buildings that are human scale, that their owners have an outside chance of managing themselves instead of being compelled to employ expensive professional services to manage the expensive infrastructure they own but can't run. And they need to be standalone buildings, not legally bound to others through unnecessary stratum or community title. #strata #housing #affordability #greencities https://lnkd.in/gNv2952d

We've posted another blog covering the SSMUH initiative and cities' responses to it! Read our blog to learn more.

In a significant win for us, and cohousing in general, our project in Eltham (Melbourne) has successfully been appealed at VCAT, with no changes required and a very fast turnaround of 2 weeks. We’re still looking for ~5 families to join the project, so spread the word as the project has now been significantly de-risked now that we have this decision in our favour. With construction to begin in early 2025. https://lnkd.in/g2R9JSWZ From the reasons given by VCAT: 1. This case provides an exemplar of an innovative approach to dealing with the challenge of providing more diverse housing opportunities to meet the needs of all Victorians. 2. In 2021 a group of people formed a housing co-operative and decided the best way to tackle housing supply and affordability was to purchase a site and develop a series of dwellings around a plethora of communal facilities. In short, this group of people decided to take action to solve their own housing affordability issues. 3. This was by no means a half-baked idea. Instead, the group engaged highly respected professionals in a range of fields, including architecture, to design a series of dwellings that responded to the site’s constraints in an informed and clever manner. In a system where a development only needs to meet an appropriate or reasonable standard in order to gain a planning permit, it is our view that this proposal goes well beyond such measures. We have found that the proposal is an excellent response to its context both in terms of policy and its physical context 4. The proposed addresses the call for diversity in housing supply that is one of the key planks of the Nillumbik Planning Scheme. In our view, this is a project that could and should have been supported and fast tracked because of the qualities we have outlined above. That instead this project was met with substantial delays and opposition, is part of a wider trend we are observing, that will fail to produce appropriate housing projects that canstart to address the existing shortfall of housing supply presently being experienced across Metropolitan Melbourne.

The question of housing affordability- and issues with costs, supply chain, design and affordability - are not a new problem. Today, I read about a program from the 1940s and 1950s - The Small Homes Service ( NSW) which was a strategy for a solution. Some quotes below - from the paper by Dr Noni Boyd “the NSW Small House Plan Service was intended to provide ‘plans for small houses which shall be architecturally correct, economically built, and correctly planned” “in New South Wales building costs had doubled between 1939 and 1946 and building materials were very hard to get. There was up to a two-year wait for bricks in areas” “The Small Homes Service (NSW), conducted by the Chapter in conjunction with Home Beautiful, continues to operate satisfactorily, giving a useful public service which aims at contributing to the improvement of design standards in small low-cost houses.” #housing #affordablehousing #housingaffordability #buildingahome

One of the books in our month-long Future of Housing focus, is Walter Segal: Self-Built Architect, by Alice Grahame 🌱 Grahame and John McKean with an introduction by Kevin McCloud ~ NOW 50% OFF at www.lundhumphries.com! This book is a study of the architect Walter Segal (1907-1985) – his background, influences, thoughts, writings, his unique approach to architectural practice (and his built work) – as well as his enduring impact on architecture and attitudes to housing across the world…   The timber-frame form known world-wide today as ‘the Segal system’, can be used by people to build their own houses. Indeed, at the time of Segal’s death, in 1985, two areas of self-built public authority social housing in London were being constructed - housing which, nearly half a century later, remains as unique and highly desirable neighbourhoods. Segal’s method provides the possibility of making, and then living within, communities whose places are constructed with a flexible, easily assembled, planet-friendly timber-frame building system for today and tomorrow. In practice now: Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS)'s Church Grove in south-east London, a Segal-inspired housing scheme, has just been completed. https://lnkd.in/eMzXd_nn

Check out the Province of BC's new Standardized Designs guide for gentle density housing! Some folx have expressed concerns about a catalogue approach to housing and that neighbourhoods will be flooded with 'cookie cutter' homes that 'all look the same'. The guide offers a 'choose your own adventure' style of housing. Want a garage? Go there. Don't want a garage? Go here. How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? How many units? So many options. Even if all the citizen- and small-scale developers who are interested in gentle density were to choose the same style, layout, number of units, parking, etc., my guess is that these homes aren't likely to be built next to each other on the same block all at the same time (I think). The beauty of infill housing is that it's incremental. On the other hand, I've seen entire blocks of homes replaced with dozens of townhomes that look pretty much the same, and have also visited subdivisions where the homes have been chosen from a set menu of designs provided by the developer. I'm excited to see where this goes. Incrementally.

BC takes the lead again on policy for small housing by standardizing small home designs… Standardization of ADU designs is a cornerstone that all participating parties require to move this housing solution forward…#smallhousing #housing #microliving #ADU #BC #offsite #CMHC #jobs #economicstimulus #innovation #energyefficiency #scale

Exciting milestone for infill development with the Province releasing their new standardized designs. Looking forward to seeing how this is received in the industry. The Province also released some interesting costing metrics for the designs and BC Regions (found via the same news release link below). While the assumptions are clearly stated on page 1, the excluded costs are often the most significant areas where cost fluctuations significantly impact the viability of this housing form. A few examples on the excluded items. - Soft Costs: Design & Engineering costs can fluctuate with various municipal or region requirements. Project Financing costs typically fall into this area and are highly variable depending on the borrower's financial strength and the deal metrics. There are some new products coming online to help here. - Utility Connections: We've seen costs range from $8k to $275k for utility connections for similar sized projects, depending on the location and utility company's required upgrades (this isn't always know at time of permit submission) - Existing House Removal: The main goal of this housing form is to redevelop existing suburban neighbourhoods. House removal can be significant cost if there are hazardous materials and potentially stringent recycling requirements for demolishing buildings, depending on the Municipality. It's an exciting time and great to see the efforts in cataloging costs here, but it also highlights the need for more collaboration and programs to reduce risk and incentivize this form of housing for larger uptake. If you're interested in building and have questions - reach out! We've been working with homeowers, developers, and municipalities to develop feasible infill and #gentledensityhomes across BC.