Thread by @holz_bau

this is a new one (well, to me...) a colleague mentioned i am fairly critical on twitter... and challenged me to put forth a positive vision.

'if you were developing a baugruppe and not limited by poor zoning or high costs, what would it be'

so... challenge... acccepted?

the form.

it would definitely be a baugruppe... self developed (non-market, normally) urban housing.

is it co-housing? yes/no/maybe?

i wrote about baugruppen for the urbanist years ago

theurbanist.org/category/baugr…

the legal form in WA is a challenge, in part because of funding, and in part because of condo laws.

i think it would be better as a coop, but could be an llc.

more on condo issue here: sightline.org/2019/01/09/mod…

a number of baugruppen have an organizing concept... solidarity, old + young together, urban gardening, etc.

so i guess our would be ecological living: living a 1.5C lifestyle.

this informs a lot of the other decisions...

we would be a car-free building.

bike-friendly is an understatement...

ample pram/bike/cargo bike storage. this could be achieved via generous balconies, like on the fahrradloft in berlin...

vcd.org/themen/wohnen-…

but more than likely it would have a big bike room.

the walden48 is a mass timber, car-free BG in berlin, with a underground bike room: scharabi.de/walden-48/

also should have a workshop so that folks can work on their bikes...

naturally i understand there are life situations that may require a car, or perhaps there would be a time when a shared car is needed... so there could be a way to accommodate one car, or perhaps it's just a reserved ADA space curbside.

passivhaus is a must.

what is a passivhaus? it is a low-energy building. it is durable, comfortable, and climate resilient.

it protects against heatdomes and cold snaps.

more info on PH basics here: passivehouse-international.org/upload/downloa…

however the biggest reason, for me at least, is the fresh, filtered air via HRV.

especially since most of our multifamily housing is near polluted arterials.

on top of this, we now have wildfire smoke season. i expect those to get harsher and longer.

https://twitter.com/MontePaulsen/status/1029786459786493952?s=20

the building structure?

mass timber, naturally (!)

i'm a huge proponent of mass timber for a number of reasons:

prefab
speed of construction
quiet construction sites
biophilia

and reduced CO2 footprints v. concrete

like so:

plus mass timber pairs phenomenally well w/ passivhaus

attention to detail, thoughtful planning, prefabrication and precision are critical.
treehugger.com/mass-timber-an…

in order to optimize the costs of these, the building would need to be as simple and straightforward as possible.

this means no modulation (and no design review)

no funky structure - a straightforward and cost effective grid.

#BoxyButBeautiful

haz.de/Nachrichten/De…

circularity + open building also critical roles

this means design for disassembly, prefabrication.

also means structure needs to be flexible - for either residential or commercial uses.

and central core all services are pulled to
openbuilding.co/manifesto

single stair buildings

this is the secret sauce to livability for mid-rise buildings

no long corridors
cross ventilation
light on multiple sides

thread on that topic here:

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1384664407662157825?s=20

active solar protection

needed to significantly reduce overheating in warming world

great for privacy

also just a great urban element - think of wooden shutters (that actually function!), sliding panels, roll down shades, or awnings

another thread:

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1408176623858245635?s=20

would be a mix of unit types.

this also allows for a bit of economic and household diversity

studios to 3 bedrooms. even potential for something like clusterwohnung... several households sharing one unit, like 'mehr als wohnen' in zuerich

theurbanist.org/2018/08/10/bri…

it would have additional common amenities...

a small community room for gatherings.
a guest suite that could also function as caretaker's unit, isolation ward (ugh, i'm done w/ covid), a teenager's apt, or rental to balance books.

in vienna: practice room. library... a sauna!

would be a plethora of outdoor space.

each unit would have own balcony or loggia (the loggia is more protected, but the balcony is better for compactness)

a common roof deck, w/ roof garden

massive courtyard: chicken coop... petanque... playground...

accessibility

in seattle... each floor can have max 4 units sharing single stair and elevator core. larger building, could mirror it for 8. sim to this plan.

all units adaptable.

no underground units that could flood.

building height

this is where it gets weird.

in seattle, we can do max 6 floors w/ single stair condition.

but mass timber really wants to be 7-8 floors. avoids gypsum everywhere. cost advantages v. 5 floors framing + (1-2 floors concrete)

so for now, we'll say 6 stories

this means we're looking at 20-24 units for a smaller/typical lot. 40-48 for wider lot w/ (2) single stair conditions.

this seems to be sweet spot for management of baugruppen as well.

multigenerational? of course.

my kiddos love hanging out with our retired neighbors. they don't get to see their grandparents much, either. so it helps fill that role. or perhaps we convince my parents to join the baugruppe

really the big question comes down to affordability.

there are a couple of things disadvantaging a baugruppe in seattle...

absurdly high land costs
high mass timber costs

i think my moonshot idea could be a work around on the land cost...

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1286563907679600640?s=20

and there are coming grant opportunities on mass timber as well.

my hope is that patient money would be willing to take a lower ROI for funding adaptable and resilient non-market housing as well...

unfortunately, unlike most every other city in the world, seattle is severely constrained to where 6 story buildings are allowed.

it's rare that those areas are not on an arterial or downtown.

vienna? many 4-8 story buildings, not just near the core. and very broad in area

but this sort of thing should be legal in every part of our 'urban villages'

we need more options affordable to a broader spectrum of residents

and there are almost no options for families other than detached homes and townhomes

imagine a movement around housing like this...

imagine neighborhoods filled with these. some w/ cafes or grocers on ground floor. some with co-working space, or theaters. parks.

we could build such a beautiful world.

anyway, thank you for coming to my ted talk on affordable-ish, sustainable, resilient, livable urban housing