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Green Townhouses in NYC: Race to the Top

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LEED or Passiv Haus?  From the Wall Street Journal: "Developer Teddy Schiff is working to develop a niche in the New York City housing market by building green townhouses. His first project garnered Manhattan's first LEED gold-certified townhouse, a six-story home on the Upper East Side with multiple outdoor spaces and sustainable design features meant to reduce the use of energy, water and natural resources."  Full article here.  (Photo credit sothebyshomes.com.) gbNYC Magazine writer David Roth, who proclaims that he is "personally partial to small changes in the way we build and human-scale development", also wrote about this project, and about "Passive House 1 at 174 Grand Street in Williamsburg, a (yes) passive development by Brooklyn architecture firm Loadingdock5" which "would be the first new building in New York City to meet the ambitious and rigorous Passiv Haus standards."  Full article with photo here.

Field Trip to Cincinnati, Ohio: Part 1

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Townhouses in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine ("OTR") neighborhood were the subject of two recent posts, and last week we had a random chance to visit Cincinnati.  To say that we were impressed would be an understatement.  The photos have been added to the Flickr pool, but they tell only a small part of the story.  OTR has a vast collection of townhouses built by German immigrants in the 19th century, about which travel writer Arthur Frommer said in 1993: "In all of America, there is no more promising an urban area for revitalization than your own Over-the-Rhine.  When I look at that remarkably untouched, expansive section of architecturally uniform structures...I see in my mind the possibility for a revived district that literally could rival similar prosperous and heavily visited areas."  Thanks to a partnership among the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation and neighborhood stakeholders, OTR's buildings are being revitalized and filled with small businesses like Iris Book Cafe, Lavomatic cafe, and Skirtz & Johnston pastries, arts groups like No No Knots and Project Cincinnatus, and most importantly all kinds of residents! Part 2 coming soon: More specific preservation and redevelopment efforts.

So Much Depends Upon the Stoop

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From the Washington Post, an article on the always-relevant topic of stoops and other transitions from private to public space: "Harriet and Dick Melmer don't have a front porch or yard. They step from their 1782 townhouse immediately into the public right of way, a brick sidewalk belonging to the city of Alexandria and heavily used by pedestrians.  Like many homeowners who live in urban settings, the Melmers face the challenge of blending private and public spaces when there is minimal distance between the two.  'The sidewalk becomes the public living room in front of the house,' said Al Cox, Alexandria's manager of historic preservation.  To soften that transition and create a sense of welcome, some urban homeowners rely on small flourishes of design."  Full article here.

Philly Rowhouse Gentrification for Student Housing

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From the Philadelphia Inquirer, an article about rowhouses near Temple University: "A long-blighted swath of about a quarter of a square mile is being reinvented, however frenetically, by dozens of developers.  [Temple's] five residence halls couldn't absorb the surge, and in 2004 the administration decided that going forward, only freshmen and sophomores could live on campus.  'The strategy was that the private market would provide the housing' for the ousted upperclassmen, said Kenneth Lawrence Jr., senior vice president for government, community and public affairs.  Lured by an abundance of barren lots and a guaranteed clientele, an estimated 45 developers have worked on at least 600 mostly bite-size pieces of the neighborhood.  Builders continue to woo homeowners such as Bertha Cohen, a great-grandmother who has lived in the neighborhood more than 35 years. They call and write urging her to sell, she said, and 'they're always sticking papers in your door.'"  Full article here.

Townhouses and Open Building: It's Elemental

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Stephen Kendall, author of Homeworks and director of the Building Futures Institute, emailed us some images of a townhouse project in Chile by Alejandro Aravena.  The project is an example of "open building", which promotes the ability to reconfigure and add to a building over time.  Townhouses are traditionally added to on the rear, but these allow vertical addition next to an original vertical volume.  Check out another view of the project in the TownhouseCenter image pool on Flickr, and add you own images of townhouses, rowhouses, shophouses, brownstones, or other small urban buildings.

It's a Small World: Singapore's Shophouse Districts

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From Slouching Somewhere, a blog post about a visit to Singapore with colorful photos of shophouses: "Among its attractions, what I was most interested to see were the districts that possessed culture and character in every corner. Singapore had been criticized for the lack of both when it began to prosper back in the 1970s and 80s. But it does have them, albeit too gentrified for some. And the charming shophouses definitely boast both culture and character in its history and architecture."  The shophouses featured seem to be from Singapore's Chinatown (Ann Siang Hill), Kampong Glam (Arab Quarter), Emerald Hill, and Little India.  Full post here.  What could small urban buildings do for your city? Update: Slouching Somewhere posted more photos from Ann Siang Hill.

Hong Kong Shophouse Preservation Obstacles

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From Urbanphoto.net an article celebrating Hong Kong's shophouses and the people who promote their preservation: "What complicates matters is that few individual shophouses are worthy of being considered historic monuments, says Lee [Ho-yin, the director of the University of Hong Kong’s architectural conservation program], who calls them 'the speculative buildings of their time,' not altogether different in purpose from the glossy apartment towers being built today.  Many of the worst-preserved shophouses are located where redevelopment pressure is intense and owners can expect a big payout if they sell their building to developers.  'We’re so used to the kind of large-scale development done by big developers or the URA that we take it for granted that this is the only way to do things,' [Lee Ho-yin] says. 'One reason Hong Kong is so weak at historic conservation is the lack of diversity in our land development system.'"  Full article here.  The article mentions a Flickr photo pool of Hong Kong Shophouses.

Small Urban Building Preservation in Cincinnati, Ohio

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I read dozens of web pages every day about small urban buildings (set a Google Alert for "townhouse" and see what I mean), but one that not only caught my eye but also continued to impress upon further investigation belongs to Over-the-Rhine Community Housing in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I recently posted about OTRCH's new construction townhouse project, City Home, but the organization has accomplished several redevelopment and preservation projects: 228 East Clifton, 6 Findlay Street (photo above), 145-147 Mulberry Street, and 1225, 1300, 1301, and 1327 Vine Street.  Chapeau!  OTRCH's work suggests that the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is full of small urban buildings to preserve and learn from.  For example, OTRCH's architect on the City Home project, Schickel Design, also designed the renovation of a building on 14th Street.  A field trip to Cincinnati is in order!  But these projects provoke a larger question: what do you call such attached urban buildings that are larger than a typical townhouse but much smaller than a "tower"?

Do Townhouses Generate Less Property Tax?

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From Fredericksburg.com, we learn that a county in Virginia recently studied some of its urban planning decisions and their possible economic impacts.  One of the topics studied was different building types -- houses, apartments, and townhouses -- and how much each would generate in tax revenue and costs in government services.  The study concluded that "Each townhouse costs the county $1,368 -- roughly three times as much as a regular house and about $500 more than an apartment.  Those figures compare the cost of county services such as schools and fire protection with tax revenue. Essentially, townhouses demand services similar to those required by regular houses, but their lower values mean less tax revenue."  Full article here.  (Photo of a townhouse in Fredericksburg, credit weichert.com.) Update: Townhouse Center makes no representation about the accuracy of the above-mentioned study.  See comments for counter-example from reader.  Thanks, Dan.

Energy-Neutral Townhouse in Amsterdam Is Burned

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Several websites and blogs have already written about this net-zero-energy townhouse in Amsterdam, but Inhabitat.com was the first we found that shared photos of the exterior, which is made of charred (i.e. partially burned) wood "according to an old Japanese technique...so that the top layer is preserved and will never need to be treated" with paint or otherwise.  The townhouse was designed by FARO Architecten to passivhaus standards, and also includes a wind turbine.  Full article here, with photos of the interior as well as sketches and blueprints.

Townhouses Boosted at the Shanghai World Expo

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From the Issaqua Free Press we learn that the governor of Washington spoke at the Shanghai World Expo Sustainable Cities Forum and mentioned a zero-energy townhouse project called zHome being built in one of her state's more progressive cities, Issaqua: "Plans call for zHome to include 10 townhouses designed to produce as much electricity as the units consume. By harnessing solar power and using recycled building materials, developers hope the complex causes only minimal impact to the environment.  The city spearheaded the development of zHome, and a private joint venture is responsible for construction and financing."  Full article here, video of construction here.  (Image credit: z-home.org)

No Secret: Attached Buildings Are Green

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From the Philly Daily News, a friendly reminder to residents of rowhouses old and new: "You are green. And you don't even know it. If you own a rowhouse in Philadelphia, you have one of the most energy-efficient houses in the nation. It's true. You're green even if you're a Dallas Cowboys guy. Or a Tea Party gal. The walls you share with your neighbors - love 'em or hate 'em - help your entire block keep heating costs down in the winter and air-conditioners humming less frantically in the summer."  Taking the message to the people!  Full article here.

Shophouses for Economic Development

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From Bernama.com, the Malaysian National News Agency: "The Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) will be introducing an affordable shophouse scheme to help raise the economy of Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the state.  Chairman of Sedco, Datuk Mohd Arifin Arif, said for a start, 10 units will be built in Membakut early next year before the scheme is expanded by stages to all other districts in Sabah.  'We will identify suitable locations in other districts to build the affordable shophouses and hopefully all Bumiputera entrepreneurs will benefit from this.'"  Full article here.  If any reader can find out more information about this program, it would be much appreciated.  (Photo credit: Mysabah.com.)

New Townhouses in Cincinnati

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The latest issue of Urban Land magazine mentioned a townhouse project in Cincinatti known as City Home (photo credit: urban-out.com).  The project is a collaboration among Over The Rhine Community Housing, Eber Development, and Schickel Design and has resulted in new for-sale townhomes in  downtown Cincinnati.  The architect's website mentions several features of the project: dense, urban infill location with existing utilities; tall, operable windows for daylight and cross-ventilation; tnterior courtyard to bring light and air into the core; energy Star 5-Star Plus rating (highest possible); community resources within walking distance.

Jeff Speck Residence Images

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A couple of days ago, Jeff Speck himself -- architect, planner, former Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts, and co-author of the Smart Growth Manual -- graciously sent us some photos of his residence.  It is a "flatiron" building on an acutely triangular lot, so it is not as prototypical as most of the buildings we aim to feature on this website.  However, it is a small attached urban building, and it is full of many lessons for townhouse designers.  So we uploaded them to the TownhouseCenter group/photo pool on Flickr.  Check out the set here!  How does its design respond to that of its neighboring buildings?  How does it accomplish circulation -- vertical and horizontal -- in an efficient way?  If you have images of townhouses -- photos or drawings -- upload them to Flickr, join the TownhouseCenter group, and add them to our photo pool for all to enjoy!

The Stoop in Brooklyn, Explained

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From Brownstoner Brooklyn: "As in many things New York, we can thank the Dutch for the stoop, both the concept and the name, which originated from the word stoep.  Flooding was no longer a major concern, but the stoop gave the architect a reason for a more elaborate entryway, and stoops were immediately and universally embraced in our row house design ever since.  Most New York streets did not have service alleyways, like Philadelphia and Baltimore, so the stoop allowed a service entrance to be built underneath the main stairway, to allow servants and deliveries to enter the house and kitchen.  Because people eventually want change, the Anglo-Italianate style also developed.... Based on English terrace houses, these homes did not have tall stoops at all, but instead were the first 'English basement' style houses, where one entered on the ground level with only one or two stairs up, and there was no service floor below."  Full article here.

Vancouver Townhouses, In Memory

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From the Vancouver Sun: "For all that they are new, the three homes commanding the prominent Vancouver intersection of 33rd and Cambie have quite a past, a multi-decade history of individual eagerness and institutional reluctance.  The late Art Cowie started building them more than 40 years ago, when life abroad introduced him to the 'fee-simple' townhouse or rowhouse.  [...]  Vancouver city hall doesn't like the fee-simple rowhouse, and has a legal opinion that favours its disfavour.  'The problem here is that party wall agreements die with individual owners,' says Suzanne Anton, a Vancouver city councillor and lawyer."  Full article here.

Newfoundland Rowhouses

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From the Owlery Chronicles: "Anyone who’s visited or lived in St. John’s knows that much of the city’s character can be attributed to the brightly coloured rowhouses that line the winding downtown streets.  [...]  I love my little row house with its quirky character, its slanted floors, its creaks and groans. Narrow staircases lead to the top floor that has a decent enough view of Signal Hill and the harbour.  [...]  Different shapes, new colours (of the houses and in the characters who live within them) – all part of St. John’s vernacular architecture."  Full article with photos here.

Brownstones v. Lincoln Center

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From NYTimes writer Roberta Brandes Gratz, an article about revitalizing the Upper West Side.  Regarding the brownstones: "Yet where others saw risk, we saw opportunity: affordable housing, racial and economic diversity and a vision of a sustainable, vibrant community not yet on the urban demographer’s radar.  [...]  Most Upper West Side brownstones had been built in the late 1890’s for middle-class families but had been broken up into tiny apartments in the 1950’s and neglected since by absentee landlords. They were easily, if expensively, converted back to single-family or duplex dwellings."  Regarding Lincoln Center: "The superblock created by Lincoln Center destroyed the entire neighborhood of San Juan Hill.  [...]  For example, there’s the tenacious myth that Lincoln Center was the catalyst for the Upper West Side’s rebirth.  But if anything, Lincoln Center, with its forbidding plinth and bulky structures that turn their back on the city, was a symbol and cause of the decline of urban life."  Full article here.  (Photo credit: Fred Conrad.)