AFFORDABLE BY DESIGN
HOUSING PLAYBOOK
Design Innovation in Pursuit of Affordable Housing Solutions
Download The PlaybookThe Affordable by Design Housing Playbook is designed to apply innovation in the accelerated production of affordable housing solutions. Together with its partners, Omaha by Design is proud to introduce this series of open-source affordable housing prototypes, collaboratively designed to assist prospective homeowners and developers in their efforts to address the “affordability gap” in new-construction infill housing.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAYBOOK
At Omaha by Design, we recognize that housing can either be a barrier or a gateway to accessing civic life and equitable opportunities for prosperity.
Recognizing how Omaha, like cities across the nation, is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, we launched the first chapter of the Affordable by Design Housing Playbook to help:
- Address the “affordability gap” in home design, construction, and maintenance.
- Broaden access to wealth-building through home ownership.
- Provide for a wide variety of family structures and cultural preferences.
- Introduce and employ universal design best practices.
- Identify and implement construction efficiencies to reduce up-front and lifecycle costs promote people- and neighborhood-centered urban design.
Conceived as an open-source set of housing prototypes, the goal was to develop a resource that will help potential homeowners and small developers understand what is possible on the typically narrow lots in Omaha’s older neighborhoods.
Along with our professional and community partners, we have worked to create a conceptual design that accommodates the conditions of urban infill sites, complements and enhances existing neighborhoods, and allows potential homeowners to have agency over the final design while using a simple base prototype.
The design shown within this document is conceptual and is intended to provide homeowners, developers, and builders with an idea of what they can do on their own properties. The base design is simple – a rectangular footprint for the house, and another rectangular footprint for the attached garage – but is paired with a number of customization options including material palettes and roof forms to ensure that the resulting homes are anything but cookie cutter.
The simplicity of the base plan is intended to provide a straightforward building envelope that can be constructed out of a variety of typical construction systems–from stick framed to structurally insulated panels. This is intended to allow flexibility to accommodate owner/developer preferences as well as changes in material and labor markets.
But design alone can’t mitigate all of the volatility in today’s construction and homebuying climate and solve for affordability. As such, this study is intended to be just one tool in a set, providing conceptual plans that can be partnered with financing, development incentives, and other components within the development ecosystem to create an affordable product.
Scott Dobbe
Executive Director, Omaha by Design
PLAYBOOK PARTNERS
AFFORDABLE BY DESIGN TEAM
PILOT SITE: HIGHLANDER + 30TH STREET
Seventy Five North Revitalization Corporation, a key partner in this study, is a non-profit that has facilitated the revitalization of Highlander, a mixed-use community in North Omaha that has been developed along 30th Street between Parker and Lake, and 28th and 31st Streets. Based upon the purpose-built community model, the neighborhood works to “facilitate the revitalization of a healthy, sustainable, mixed-income community and break the cycle of poverty and community deterioration by creating high-quality housing, thriving schools, recreational facilities, and other neighborhood enrichment opportunities.”
Built on the former site of the Pleasantview Homes, a 300-unit public housing site, Highlander has been a catalyst for development and activity. Master planning for the neighborhood started in 2014 and included mixed-income townhomes, apartments, and senior living units, along with a mixed-use commercial and community building. A single-family, owner-occupied component was planned for the eastern most portion of the site, between 28th and 29th Streets.
As a partner in this study, 75North will develop up to 28 urban lots based upon this study’s design concept. Their goal is to provide market-quality homes, a product that is currently hard to find in the neighborhood. 75North will be leveraging additional funding sources to help bridge the gap between construction price and sale price, particularly in early phases which will have few neighborhood comparables that can be referenced for financing.
The development of these owner-occupied homes offers a rare opportunity to test our conceptual ideas in a very quick time frame while also developing a library of construction documents to complement the conceptual drawings shown within this document. It is intended that the concepts within this study can evolve with these early homes to reflect lessons learned, and extend the value of this playbook.
For the purpose of the Playbook, the original 75North lots between Parker and Burdette, and 28th and 29th Streets have been used as a case study. The lots provide a challenging variety, with a minimum lot size of 40’ x 113’ and grade changes of up to 15’. To accommodate this, we have developed three base prototypes:
A walk-out basement concept that works with the extensive grade change on the lots north of Blondo Street and can be located on a narrow 40’ wide lot.
A walk-out basement concept that works with the extensive grade change on the lots north of Blondo Street and can be located on a narrow 40’ wide lot.
A walk-out basement concept that works with the extensive grade change on the lots north of Blondo Street and can be located on a narrow 40’ wide lot.
Stakeholder + Partner Input
During the summer of 2021, the study team, including representatives of Omaha by Design, Seventy Five North, and Alley Poyner Macchietto, met with community stakeholders to determine what features potential homebuyers in the neighborhood are looking for, and what is currently lacking within the existing building stock.
The Affordable by Design Housing Playbook owes a debt of gratitude to the leading stakeholders who gave of their time and expertise, including:
- Angel Starks, Nebraska Realty
- Canopy South
- City of Omaha Planning Department
- Family Housing Advisory Services
- Habitat for Humanity of Omaha
- Omaha 100
- Omaha Municipal Land Bank
- Spark Developers Academy
Finally, a special thanks goes to Sewlyn Bachus, 2021 Design Fellow at Omaha by Design. As a graduate student of architecture with strong ties to North Omaha, Selwyn led in Playbook design coordination with project partners, stakeholders, and broader community members. Selwyn’s dedicated focus on – and significant contribution to – the design and application of innovative affordable housing solutions set the template for the Playbook’s future implementation.
DESIGN PROCESS
GOALS + ASPIRATIONS
Affordable by Design means more than just lowest first-cost. True affordability requires that we think deeply about the long-term quality, adaptability and sustainability of housing solutions.
An Affordable by Design home respects its occupants – providing flexibility to grow and change with their needs, accommodating aging-in-place and varying mobility levels.
It honors its neighbors, presenting a friendly face with contextual features like a front porch while enhancing connectivity and walkability.
PREFERRED PROGRAM
Through the stakeholder engagement process it became apparent that significant gaps exist between the housing products that are available in and around Highlander and North Omaha, and those which individuals and families are seeking. This fact-finding included a survey of participants in Family Housing Advisory Services first-time homebuyer program, as well as existing rental tenants at Highlander, which was key in identifying a program for the Playbook prototypes.
Preferred program components, as summarized below, were identified as most desired. Not all of the prototypes within this document provide all of the preferred program components due to site, configuration, or size constraints. However, all program elements are represented in at least one prototype to provide an example of how they can be accommodated.
ZONING + SITE DEVELOPMENT
As noted previously in the Highlander + 30th Street section, the planned single-family lots to be developed by 75North were used as a case study for the Playbook prototypes. However, this study is also intended to provide resources for all potential infill sites within all of the older neighborhoods of Omaha, Council Bluffs, and beyond.
The table below outlines the site regulators (set-backs, maximum heights, etc.) for residential zoning categories from R-3 to R-8. For our purposes, it is likely that the potential sites for this prototype would be zoned R-4 and higher, so we assumed a 25’ front yard setback, 25’ rear yard setback, 15’ side yard setback, and 5’ interior side yard setback as the standard condition. We also assumed interior lots (opposed to corner lots).
The following diagram shows typical lot sizes and configurations (interior versus corner lots) and the developable footprint that remains once setbacks have been accommodated.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
The first step when developing an infill lot should be to identify just how developable a specific lot is. Many of the most restrictive examples in this diagram are outliers – a 30’ wide single corner lot being a great example. However, many lots within older neighborhoods may be difficult to develop, and this should be considered before buying. For additional detail – and a fun read – the full Omaha zoning code can be found at this link.
When designing an infill home, it is important to respond to the context of the existing neighborhood. This doesn’t mean the house should mimic historic styles or be restricted by them, but rather that the new house should be appropriately scaled and take cues from existing homes.
With Highlander as the case study, we researched the existing housing stock within the area and created a sample neighborhood, shown below. In most older neighborhoods, the styles of the existing homes vary, so even if you want to build a more modern home, it can still be contextual if key elements are retained. These include a front porch or stoop, which help to create a transition space from the public street into the private home, while also providing an opportunity for interaction with neighbors.
The size of the home is also important. Many older homes were built at a more intimate scale than you would find in most suburban subdivisions. Depending on your site’s immediate neighbors, this may influence what type of house (one story or two, etc.) you would prefer to build.
Additional cues, such as roof forms, porch types, and decorative detailing can be used to make a home more contextual. Or, you can build on the eclecticism of older neighborhoods and develop a thoroughly modern home that adds to the variety and character of the city in a different way.
DESIGN CONCEPT
Key Principles
After stakeholder engagement, zoning research, and neighborhood context studies were complete, the design team held a design charrette to establish a core concept upon which the prototypes would be based. The following key principles emerged:
“A House Should Look Like a House”
While exterior expression can vary according to use, neighborhood context, and personal taste, there is societal value in housing with an identifiably vernacular character – meaning it is “house shaped” – including recognizable elements such as a front porch, and centered upon a modern hearth.
Create Privacy Zones
Employ best practices in community-building and resident experience, transitioning from a greater degree of openness to a greater degree of privacy as one moves through the site. From the public street, to semi-public front yard, to semi-private front porch, and finally private home and backyard, privacy zones create intuitive control points for visitors.
Simplify Structural & Mechanical with Core Concept
Create a simplified structural system, reducing costs and allowing maximal flexibility within the floor plate. Centralize intensive uses (stairs, bathrooms, etc.) into a core system, allowing for more efficient plumbing and HVAC layouts.
Develop a Kit of Parts
Using systems that can be constructed by small contractors or homeowners enhances opportunity. Accordingly, design concept to allow for variety in form and style, flexibility in size and configuration, and opportunities for owner input. “Kit of Parts” construction methodology may be utilized to reduce unit costs, spanning from traditional “stick-built,” to panelized, and even modular assembly.
Form, Scale, + Variety
The basic Affordable by Design concept developed simple, rectangular footprints – one for the home and one for the garage – that can grow or shrink to accommodate the desired program. Additionally, the footprints can be extended to provide flexibility for future additions, allowing the home to be constructed in phases, which is particularly beneficial to homeowners performing some construction work themselves.
To provide for individual preference, variety can be realized through selection of a roof truss type and other elements. Because of the narrow width of typical available infill sites in east Omaha, the footprint of the house prototypes developed as a part of this study are quite narrow. This allows for the side walls of the homes to act as bearing walls for a variety of trusses. This single design decision allows for flexibility of the interior layout along with a multitude of forms – monopitch roofs for a more modern feel, gabled or even hip roofs for a more traditional shape.
FORM
Scissor or cambered trusses create additional options within the interior of the home as well. Variety in overhang depths adds another design option, as shown in the diagrams here.
SCALE
How a house successfully addresses the public street is a critical component in building a walkable, engaging neighborhood. Elevated porches provide opportunities for interactions with neighbors, while design variety provides interest for an enjoyable walk down the block.
VARIETY
The various design components–roof geometry, porch configuration, materials selections – work together to provide options for respectful infill within existing neighborhoods while also providing for variety and individual character within multi-lot new developments.
FORM, SCALE, + VARIETY
Service Spaces
The Service Spaces, including circulation and storage, are located on the left wall of the home, aligned with the front door. This consolidates these uses along the shared wall with the garage, maximizing window opportunities within the living spaces on the right half of the plan.
Plumbed Areas
Stacking and consolidating the Plumbed Areas (bathrooms, laundry, kitchens) reduces the amount of piping required in a home, while also simplifying future maintenance.
Serced Spaces
Organizing the service and plumbed areas as outlined above provides flexibility to the remaining spaces – the Served Spaces. These living areas, such as living and family rooms and bedrooms, can be organized based upon the preferences and needs of the individual homeowner. For example, on the lower level of the Walk Out option shown to the right, the number and size of bedrooms and living spaces could be adjusted within areas in white.
Organizing the service and plumbed areas as outlined above provides flexibility to the remaining spaces – the Served Spaces. These living areas, such as living and family rooms and bedrooms, can be organized based upon the preferences and needs of the individual homeowner. For example, on the lower level of the Walk Out option shown to the right, the number and size of bedrooms and living spaces could be adjusted within areas in white.
Within all of the area types outlined above, individual components can be swapped in and out to respond to the needs of the homeowner. For example, on Plan Example 1 seen below, the kitchen is laid out as a two-sided galley, with a seated bar area. This is a very popular kitchen configuration, but doesn’t allow for a larger dining table. The second plan example provides an alternative L-shaped kitchen in the same base plan, allowing for a large dining table to accommodate bigger family gatherings.
Plan Example 1 also provides a primary bedroom on the main level – a great feature for those with mobility concerns or those who are planning to age in place. Plan Example 2 shows a family room in the same location. This could be a great option for younger families who want all of their living spaces on one level, and all of the bedrooms on another, while still providing the opportunity to convert it into a primary bedroom once the home’s residents age or if a member of the family experiences reduced mobility.
PLAYBOOK PROTOTYPES + CUSTOMIZATION
AFFORDABLE BY DESIGN PROTOTYPES
Provided as an service to the community, the following open-source prototype designs are available to all.
EXTERIOR DESIGN CUSTOMIZATION
The Affordable by Design team believes everyone should feel a sense of pride in their home. It should reflect the owner’s personal style and preferences.
Accordingly, the Affordable by Design Housing Playbook has been designed with multiple options for materials selections and additional design components. For the exterior, this includes the form (roof style, overhang depths, porches), the cladding (material type and color palette), and the openings (windows and doors), along with a range of other elements, including landscaping.
INTERIOR DESIGN CUSTOMIZATION
Americans spend more than 80% of their lives indoors. To the Affordable by Design team, this is one indication why our prototypes’ attention to detail extends through the interior as well. Pride of ownership, adaptability, durability, occupant wellness, life-cycle sustainability, and aesthetics – all have a place in our definition of affordability.
Recognizing that there is no one size – or finish – that fits all, these sample Interior Palettes range in features and price points. Similar to the exterior, these are not intended to be prescriptive, but are instead meant to provide a frame of reference so individual homeowners can make finish selections based upon their own needs and preferences.
Click here to download the Interior Materials + Components package.
