As demographic and economic forces create new demands for multi-family housing, the

design and building community faces the challenge of creating products that will appeal to a
very diverse market. Projections for the increases in non-traditional households that range
from young people just starting their careers to aging baby boomers are staggering.
While large multi-family projects will certainly continue to be built, there appears to be an
opportunity to create smaller, well-designed duplexes and four-plexes that gracefully
integrate with existing single-family homes.
The key components for successful placement in either an older neighborhood or a new
planned development are careful consideration of scale and materials that allow for the
building to blend with the other homes. These multi-family designs must be respectful of the
context where they are being built.
Actually, the mixture of multi-family and single-family homes in the same area is not a new
concept. Many older neighborhoods successfully combined such diverse housing options by
simply utilizing consistent exterior materials, along with appropriate scale and proportion.
Our House Review design team has responded this month with a variety of solutions,
ranging from an infill project that resurrects this traditional idea of mixing housing types to
thoughtful new designs that have carefully addressed the critical need for privacy with
attached homes.
*********************************************************************************************

The Cottage Duplex concept each house retains its identity Although
attached, design each house to have its own roof, and so that the second floor of
each house has windows on all four sides. Small house with spacious interiors The
actual size of the houses may be quite small say 500 sq. ft. footprint but the
openness of the first floor provides a generous living space. Basements as
supplementary living spaces Openness, however, has a down-side: lack of acoustic
privacy. With the first floor as one combined living space, conflicts arise between
childrens and adults activities. The basements can be designed to be
supplementary living spaces. IDEALLY, The stairway down is centrally located and is
30 wide; this stair is U-shaped so that it starts and finishes in the same plan
location thereby elevating the status of the basement stair to that of the stair to
the second floor; basements have maximum headroom possible with 8 high
concrete forms a double-stacked sill plate; there is at least 1 of rigid insulation
below the slab to eliminate summer-time condensation; there are large south-facing
windows with splayed jambs. This latter may require window wells that can be most
cost effectively and resourcefully made using the Durisol wallfrom product. Space
use flexibility The third bedroom of the larger houses is on the ground floor off the
living space. That way it can be used as a study/music room; a home-office, or a

rental or extend family living space as well as a master bedroom. Make the upper
floor bedroom spaces unequal so that at least one bedroom is large. .. and then
make a loft space in the very small upper bedroom to compensate for its shipscabin size and maybe building in a (bunk) bed. Intimate scale steep roof With
the buildings grouped close together, it is well to reduce overall height to maintain
a comfortable feel for the exterior spaces between the buildings and to improve
sun penetration to the basement recreation spaces. Therefore, make a roof steep
(12:12) with a cathedral ceiling and make the second floor walls 6 ft. instead of 8 ft.
high. A large attic space under the steeply pitched roofs compensates for the loss of
wall height and allows for a loft over the very small bedroom. The buildings scale
can be further diminished by emphasizing horizontal lines a band of siding below
the lower windowsill level; a trim band at the upper level. Solar orientation The
buildings are oriented, and the bulk of the windows are placed, to admit winter
sunshine directly into the living spaces. The roofs are sloped at 45 degrees to
support the future installation of photovoltaic arrays houses become electric
power producers. The size of the roof collection plane is roughly the area needed to
generate enough power run the house with very efficient appliances and lights.
Keep the plumbing vents to the north slope. Houses are accessible Basic
provisions should be made to facilitate entry for persons with disabilities, the elderly
and infirmed, and parents with young children. Sound separation between
duplexed units. Attached as Cottage Duplexes, two houses are separated from
each other by a shared entry. The floor structure is broken either side of the entry
space to eliminate the transfer of vibrations from one unit to the other. Use a
window bay, built-in seating and shelving, well-designed and controlled lighting to
create a special quality to the compact interior space.
Invest in a tight, well-insulated envelope. 2x6 internally strapped (2x3) and rigid
foam sheathing is the best option as it allows for cellulose to be blown in, and for a
relatively simple air/vapor barrier to a high standard of tightness. We recommend
this additional effort, even especially for affordable housing, because adding
thermal integrity to a structure is really difficult and messy to do later on and
folks on smaller incomes really notice the benefits of lower utility bills. In addition,
on small, really geometrically simple structures the upcharge is quite small. Install
a simple central exhaust /ventilation system. Choose the Fibertherm windows,
which are comprised of a pulltruded polyester frame and sash. These windows
stronger, less prone to thermal movement, and are capable of accepting up to
quadruple pane glazing panels. It is a system that enables the future on-site
replacement of glazing panels. There is no wood, so their durability is superior. (The
absence of wood also eliminates the opportunity for condensationsaturated sash
sills to breed mold.) Back off from a complete heating (cooling) distribution system.
A superior thermal envelope takes a great load off the mechanicals so why
distribute the heat to the perimeter when you no longer have to compensate for
draft-inducing cold exterior surfaces? With an open planned, small, well-insulated 2story house, a single space heater on the first floor (or basement) may be all that is

required. The savings by completely eliminating the distribution ducts (or pipe and
radiators) will half the cost of the heating system.