Responding to the increasing need for housing and set within a 1930s concrete warehouse,
this affordable housing design includes fourteen residential units, a lobby, a community club house, and a central courtyard. The design is informed by Evidence-Based, Biophilic Design as a means for enhancing individual and community well being, as well as increasing the return on investment of government funding.
In my first career as a social worker, one of my jobs was as a “housing specialist” for which I performed HUD prescripted housing inspections as part of the administration of a subsidy program. These HUD inspections were one hundred percent geared toward safety concerns as a means of liability protection as well as overall concern for the safety of the recipients of the subsidy. It struck me then, as it does now, that there is an opportunity for a greater return on investment for subsidized housing, through the implementation of enhanced building guidelines to include design characteristics which are known to have a beneficial impact on well-being. If subsidy funding (ie- tax dollars) could not only ensure safe shelter for those in need, but also enhance individual and community well-being, wouldn’t that be of great benefit to ALL?
Related Inspirations
