thinking about how wildly different quality of new 1-BR units are in US v. germany...

seattle (l): double loaded corridor. 800 sf. 36' deep. windowless BR. 1 window (!)

munich (r): point access block. 650 s.f. windows for BR/bath, k/d/l. ~16' deep. + 110 sf balcony.

that character carries through to the interior. radically different quality of living, of daylight, of privacy in many cases as well.

again, seattle (l), v munich (r)

what is the cost of FAR wasted in townhomes?

30% of calc'd FAR of this back to back townhouse project is just... stairs

codes & regs & financing & poor construction quality make flats impossible at this scale

it's not insignificant. it's 1,300 s.f. the opportunity cost of 4 separate townhomes over flats is basically an additional 3-BR unit.

imagine paying $850k for something like this - and knowing a third of your mortgage is just paying for stairs.

literally the dumbest sh*t i've seen in a minute.

i've given a number of talks about how poor quality of life is in US multifamily housing, and it's a central theme of my book...

a >1,400 sf 2BR with only 2 windows and none in the common area and one bedroom home is a first.

this is where building codes are headed in the US. double loaded corridors. no limitations on building depth. absurdly high FAR. 50' dead end corridors.

this is where the IBC is headed. multifamily housing in other countries doesn't look anything like this.

and mass timber doesn't fix this problem.

car free streets. hundreds of businesses. how do they even survive?



the answer?

early morning or late night deliveries

deliveries by bike, scooter or hand cart

density isn't limited to a block or two off the street but continues forever

no single family zoning

pedestrian priority

mixed use zoning

point access blocks w/ small footprints

i should do a thread on elevator to unit ratios in other countries...

i'll start with this one, just because it's pretty low:

basel (CH)
(8) elevators in (2) 3-story buildings, serving just 48 units.

elev to unit ratio: 1:6

baudokumentation.ch/projekt/wohnen… the stunning swiss coop in this thread

basel (CH)
(12) elevators in (12) connected 5-story buildings, serving 125 units.

elev to unit ratio: 1:10.4

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1479526294576517120

regardless of what you think of the work - because they work globally, BIG's projects are an interesting case study in how US & canadian building regulations result in radically different low and mid-rise buildings.

this is the AARhus in aarhus (DK)

baunetzwissen.de/flachdach/obje… the dynamic verticality is a trick employed in a number of BIG's projects.

this one is interesting. the plan is a perimeter block set on a parallelogram, with opposite corners dropped and raised. the building is (9) connected point access blocks (single stair conditions)

had a last minute interview today with a journalist about US multifamily housing, how our codes induce apartments that are far less family-friendly or livable than other countries, and we ended up down the building code rabbit hole.

that's where it got interesting. they were sort of flabbergasted that the way architects even start to think about housing, v. architects in a place like 🇨🇭 germany, or france... is completely different.

it's housing, right?

conceptual planning should be same, correct?

but it's not

it's wildly different

a thought experiment on density, building form, and unit access.

typical block in my neighborhood is 250' x 400' - an area of 2.3 acres.

it's zoned multifamily - and is a mashup of everything from detached houses to townhomes to 4 story buildings.

but little open space the townhomes are the worst culprit here - because code allows them perpendicular to the street, they take up most of the lot, driveway gets most of balance - and there's virtually no space for trees or urban heat island mitigation. long term, not great from climate standpoint

here's a little anecdote i use when i am talking about how our current infrastructure was designed for a climate that no longer exists.

we moved to landshut, bayern in 2019 (thinking we'd stay in germany indefinitely... siiiigh)

was founded in 1200s. the isar runs through it the isar river's source is in the alps, and it is the primary route for a lot of glacial and snow melt, and rain from the alps.

it has an extensive history with some pretty intense flooding. the city's castle (burg trausnitz) is situated uphill from the river - great for defense

was talking with a reporter about freiburg and the things that city has achieved over the last 30 years that have catapulted it far beony and US city on livability and climate action...

and we started talking about council size.

seattle (pop ~775k): 9

freiburg (pop 22k): 48 one of the things that seems to foster is

a. much more collaboration

b. the ability for CMs to focus on a single task. in seattle, they'll chair several committees, and sit in several others. seems hard to find a champion for much of anything with that route

new block-sized development in stuttgart.

what do you see? alright.

2 things.

1. i was going to do a thread on this development, compared to the US - and why we could not replicate that here...

i totally did not see the thing. incredible.

2. this *is* 'density done nicely' (h/t @edjegasothy)

twitter remains undefeated.

<record scratch>

bollard: i only regret that I have but one life to lose for your podcast

https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1632710048378941440

these guys would likely have died if the bollards had not been installed.

pretty terrifying.

when will cities take this issue seriously?

german building & land use codes allow multiple point access blocks, no modulation req't.

the result: family-sized homes. dual aspect homes w/ light on multiple sides, cross ventilation. larger courtyards. better mix of homes. more energy efficient & cost effective buildings

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1619013300838334464

this is true for small lots, and even large developments like the stunning project in hamburg above.

seattle's building code is pretty much the opposite. mandates double loaded corridors w/ absurd amounts of FAR and building code restrictions not found in majority of countries

blrm architekt*innen's pergolenviertel in hamburg is gorgeous

a perimeter block w/ large courtyard.
(8) point access blocks
mix of unit sizes and types: townhouses, flats from 1-4 bedrooms
most units dual or corner aspect...

architizer.com/projects/pergo… this corner features a 4-bedroom unit w/ light on 3 sides.

you'll never find that in the US...

total floor plate thickness of about 40' - this is nearly *HALF* as thick as floor plates in double loaded corridors in seattle. this is what allows for the massive courtyard.

nearly got clipped in sidewalks at opposite ends of the same block by cars turning.

it's not dark out.

educating motorists isn't going to fix this.

where's that #VisionZero review? what is being excised from the report? dying

'how can single-family houses, both new & existing, be (re)designed and adapted to the life cycle and changing requirements of the residents?

how can you react appropriately to the challenges of our time with this design?'

questions @WuestenrotStift asked for its design award i want to highlight 2 of the announced winners here

because i think both of these projects are incredibly poignant, and timely.

more importantly, they foster an interesting dialogue about densifying cities and villages...

baunetz.de/meldungen/Meld…

love to hear my wife almost got hit biking northbound in the 'protected' bike lane on greenwood, as a motorist turned southbound on to east green lake way, floored it to hit gap between cars, and veered into the bike lane because they were going so fast.

ironically:

https://twitter.com/holz_bau/status/1368456680862715907

i knew as soon as this was installed that putting cyclists and oncoming traffic just 2 feet away with nothing between them but a piece of government plastic was never a good idea.

this is why we need people who bike designing bike infrastructure.

lol this is mostly spot on

'write a policy brief on why single stair buildings are better for family sized housing and climate adaptation' 'write a poem about why energy efficient passivhaus buildings are far superior to mouldy, leaky development'

oh my!

what would you do with this space? if you're the city of hamburg, you turn it into a small, mixed use car-light district.

450 homes. 60% affordable.
baugruppen.

multigenerational homes. senior housing. inclusive housing.

quartiersplatz/community green. cafe. activated ground floor. grocery store. shops.

you may not like it but this may be one of the best (and most important) developments of last 20 years social, ecological and economic sustainability form the
foundations of this project - and can be found in every decision from planning to realization.

i spent some time this afternoon talking w/ a reporter about some of the differences around housing innovation and new forms of living in the US v. europe... and one of the differences that really stood out to me in the discussion, was this...

in the US - housing innovation ('innovation'?) is largely led by the market/developers.

but the outcomes are usually... not great.

take microhousing in seattle: seattle.gov/dpd/vault/cs/g…