Townhouses: urbanity vs. privacy, played out in New York, Baltimore, and Bruges for centuries

From Brooklyn Magazine writer Henry Stewart: "In homage to the voyeuristic artwork of Shizuka Yokomizo, we sent Harlan Erskine to Park Slope to see if its browstone dwellers would let us photograph their home interiors through their curtainless windows. He left the following note at dozens of Park Slope brownstones. “I am a Brooklyn-based photographer and would love to photograph the exterior of your home for a photo story referencing the work of Shizuka Yokomizo. In the acknowledgement to Shizuka’s ‘Distance’ piece, the essay places the same amount of emphasis on the design of the home as it does as the participation of the resident. Therefore, I would like to call on you in hopes that you might participate in this feature, to leave your lower level lights on from the hours of 10pm-11pm TONIGHT and arrange the apartment as you would like it to be seen. I would also encourage you to engage in the space or in front of the window if you too would like to be photographed."  Full article with more photos here.

An interesting reminder of small-scale urban housing's uneasy relationship with its surrounding urbanity.  However, such friction has in turn produced its own art forms, such as the screen paintings of Baltimore or (my theory) the coveted lace of Belgium, which was hung centuries ago in the ground-floor windows of townhouses in the Low Countries, first for privacy, then as a sign of high class.  A contemporary example of the quest for privacy is the "rain screen" facade designed by architect Peter Gluck for this townhouse in New York.  (Photo credit: Harlan Erskine.)

Manhattan grid wraps up first 200 years of density, wayfinding...and leaving north facades in dark

The end of 2011 saw a few articles on the 200th anniversary of the Manhattan grid sneak under the wire.  From NYTimes writer Michael Kimmelman: "'The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011,' now at the Museum of the City of New York, celebrates the anniversary of what remains not just a landmark in urban history but in many ways the defining feature of the city.  The grid was big government in action, a commercially minded boon to private development and, almost despite itself, a creative template. "New York property values boomed thanks to the grid, which effectively created the real estate market.  Money and aesthetics aren’t antithetical, and the grid has proved itself oddly beautiful.  I’m referring not just to the sociability it promotes, which Jane Jacobs identified, or to the density it allows, which Rem Koolhaas celebrates.

"The grid also makes a complex place instantly navigable.  Manhattan invites long walks, because walkers can judge distances easily and always know where they are.  Tourists who come to Manhattan can easily grasp the layout and, as such, feel they immediately possess the city."  Full article here.

From Forbes writer Stephen Smith: "This WSJ blog post on the high cost of filming in Manhattan rare alleyways reminded me of these bits from Richard Pluntz’s A History of Housing in New York City: 'Even in 1811, the gridiron did not work well. For the small single-family row house which predominated at that time, the solar orientation of the gridiron was reversed from the ideal. Had the long dimension of each block faced east-west, both front and rear facades of each house would have received sunlight each day.'"  Full post here.

And as usual, Old Urbanist provided timely and thoughtful thoughts on the grid, as he did earlier in the year with a fascinating set of posts about the origins of the grid and what Manhattan might have been without it.  (Image credit: New York Historical Society)

Philadelphia small vacant lots reintroduced to collective imagination by arts installations

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/33698254]From Arch Daily writer Irina Vinnitskaya: "Vacant land is a looming problem for many cities, especially when it remains undeveloped for years or is transformed into garbage dumps and parking lots.  But when designers begin to notice these voids within the activity of a city they are able to unlock the inherent potential in the land. "That is precisely what 'Not a Vacant Lot', as part of DesignPhiladephia, did this October.  Philadelphia’s 40,000 vacant lots are both a challenge and an opportunity for young designers, artists and architects to transform these under-utilized spaces into experiences within the fabric of the urban environment.  In order to re-engage such a space there needs to be a draw – it needs to become a physical destination or a visually stimulating product that adds to the life of the city.  DesignPhiladelphia gave artists the opportunity to acknowledge these vacant spaces and reintroduce them into the urban fabric.

"The focal point of the design intervention was at the University of the Arts lot, just a few blocks from Philadelphia’s center.  It featured a reinterpreted map of Philadelphia by PennDesign students and Marianne Bernstein’s Play House, an 8′x8′ aluminum cube which, in its simplicity, could unlock the potential of this particular lot."  Full article here, with additional video.

Book explores Philadelphia rowhouse architecture innovation, more variation than theme

From Hidden City Philadelphia writer Nathaniel Popkin: "Virginia Restemeyer and E.I. Weiner, the authors of the the welcome new book Hip and Hidden Philadelphia: The Unexpected House in a City of Tradition (Probasco Haus Press, 2012), open their introduction with a deep sigh: 'Yes, Philadelphia is old, and historic, and in many ways still defied by its Quaker reticence. Some of those traits are what make the city interesting, even endearing.' "Like all of us who have grown weary of this withering narrative, which ignores considerable evidence of innovation, foresight, ambition, and (yes) wealth spread over three and a half centuries, they quickly point out there is much more to the story. 'Inside Philadelphia there is another Philadelphia.  This Philadelphia is subtle and subversive…the true sign of a different way of thinking.'

"What counts is that Restemeyer, a sculptor, and Weiner, a journalist and writer, have presented us with forceful evidence of a city of startlingly diverse residential architectural expression, well-beyond the standard rowhouse design.  The houses – each illustrated by a few photographs and a short, well-researched and well-crafted essay – are grouped under broad categories: classics, adaptive reuse, incorporated past, facelift, pioneers, etc."  Full post here.  (Photo credit: Peter Woodall.)

Long Island buyers (and construction lenders) think townhouses have several benefits over detatched

From NYTimes writer Marcelle Fischler: "New rental and for-sale communities are increasingly being built in clusters: attached townhouses, semi-attached houses and condominium and rental units in townhouse-style complexes.  What with the scarcity of financing and the inventory backlog of single-family houses, said Glen Cherveny, an architect at Axelrod & Cherveny, those developers who are building at all are sticking to the townhouse look. "Young couples and professionals starting out, as well as empty nesters and divorcees, clamor for the clustered housing, according to Bruce Orr, senior vice president for sales and marketing of Timber Ridge, a developer. This is at least partly because they don’t have to worry about exterior maintenance like raking or shoveling.  Some buyers are also realizing that home values are more secure in townhouse and condo communities, Mr. Cherveny said. With exterior maintenance controlled, there are no worries about a clunker next door.

"Another draw, said Mr. Cherveny, is the 'safety factor' of living in a close-knit community.  The townhouse setup also allows for 'a little more density' without affecting the school district.  Bruce Orr, senior vice president for sales and marketing of Timber Ridge, said a two-bedroom two-bath townhouse 'doesn’t lend itself to a family of six.'"  Full article here.  (Photo credit: Kathy Kmonicek.)

Washington, DC developer lets neighborhood choose commercial tenant for small infill

From Smart Planet writer Tyler Falk: "It’s a simple question, 'What would you build in your city?', but a new Washington, D.C. startup thinks it could transform the traditional patterns of real-estate development.  Popularise acquires vacant properties and asks the local community to vote on what business should open in that location.  Whichever business get the most votes gets to open their store. The idea is to make real-estate development more about what the community wants, says co-founder Ben Miller: "'My goal, and I would love your help, is to pull the curtain back on the real estate industry in the same way Food, Inc. did for the agro-business and food industry. Because in many ways, the same financial engineering that transformed how we eat also drove similar changes in how we live, work, dine, and shop.  Basically, real estate development has become dominated by huge investment funds and public real estate companies — most of whom have more than a billion dollars in assets.  While this money brought a lot of benefits, these corporations just aren’t based in the neighborhoods they develop.  So they build cookie-cutter projects. It’s a lot easier to repeat a past success than to risk something new.'

"It’s a simple but fascinating idea that could captivate the imagination of the neighborhood and get the community invested in the decision-making process — a good thing for any new business joining the neighborhood.  And with 10 million vacant properties throughout U.S. cities, it seems like an idea that could spread and bring development that is valuable to communities."  Full article here.

Update: Readers Elizabeth Christoforetti and Eric Shaw pointed out that the idea of crowdsourcing urban improvements more generally (not just a single tenant) has resulted in resources such as Dew, as well as the "I Wish This Was" and "Neighborland" projects by Civic Center.

Baltimore Habitat group renovates large majority (300!) of empty rowhouses in 15-block area

From Urbanite Baltimore writer  Anissa Elmerraji: "At a dedication ceremony last week attended by droves of supporters, friends, and volunteers, Inger Walker was handed the keys to her very first home.  While the day was understandably memorable for the first-time homeowner, it was equally special for the housing organization that made it all possible: Sandtown Habitat for Humanity.  Walker’s home marked the 300th completed since the organization set out on a mission twenty-two years ago to rehabilitate vacant rowhouses in the neighborhood (see 'Sandtown Green').  With three hundred homes now under its belt, Sandtown Habitat only has fifty to seventy-five more homes to complete before reaching its original goal of rehabilitating all the vacant homes within a fifteen-block area of the Sandtown community."  Full article here.  (Photo credit: Michael Barb.)

George Town, Malaysia shophouses allow fine-grained mix of artisans, culture, and tourism

20,000 views!  From Expat Online: "George Town is changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up with the new boutique hotels that are opening.  But no city can survive on crumbs from tourists alone.  George Town has historically been a place of artisans and merchants.  Without this mix of trade and tourism, George Town could run the risk of becoming a sterile ‘theme park’, paying homage to a culture no longer alive. "Francis Light, the founder of George Town, planned the first streets as a ‘mosaic of ethnic quarters’ and this pluralistic approach has persisted into the 21st century.  The architectural features of the shophouse, are as diverse and yet harmonious as its residents. The basic design is perhaps Chinese, particularly the series of open courtyards, and fan-shaped air vents. The Malays brought their expertise in wood carving and fretwork, the Indians their skilled construction techniques and recipe for durable plaster, the Europeans their French windows, louvered shutters and decorative stucco.

"Shophouses are designed to extend backwards from the street some thirty metres. They were designed as highly practical working/living spaces. The narrow frontages, often no more than six or seven metres wide, give onto a covered ‘five foot’ ways, or kaki lima, often exquisitely tiled, making it possible to walk down the street protected from both sun and tropical rain.

"The downstairs front room, giving onto the street, was where business was carried out. A carved screen protected the rooms behind. Lit by the central wells, these were more private family spaces, such as ‘dining halls’, kitchens and bedrooms. As they were designed with ‘through drafts’, open grilles which encouraged air to circulate, they were surprisingly cool and environmentally friendly buildings.

"George Town is poised to become an imaginative, edgy city if creative people can be encouraged to make it their base. The flexible and trusty shophouse, renovated for contemporary needs, could continue to provide a great working and living space for cultural arts."  Full article here.

Small glass building connects 2 historic Singapore shophouses into unique retail experience

From Inhabitat.com writer Lori Zimmer: "Singapore’s innovative Space Asia Hub is an architectural mash-up that consists of two historic buildings connected by a modern addition. Designed by WOHA Architects, the 40,000 square foot complex incorporates a charming white villa, a modern glass block building, and a larger open plan shophouse.  Situated in Singapore’s Arts District, Space Asia Hub seeks to engage visitors with both architecture and furniture design on an experiential level.  The Villa, a historic white bungalow, has been transformed with a large kitchen. "The Heritage House is a historic conservation shophouse. WOHA revamped the interior with an industrial tone that compliment the loft-like floors. Natural skylights flood the interiors with light that filters in through wooden rafters as well as an outdoor courtyard that features a three-storey living garden wall for both employees and customers to enjoy.  Connecting the two historic buildings is the modern ‘Glass Block’, which displays colorful furniture collections that can be seen from the outside."  Full article with image gallery here.

Phuket shophouses adapted to bed-and-breakfasts are beautiful but not full of tourists...yet

From The Juice Squeezer: "If you are looking for an alternative to the crowded thai beaches full of tourists, Phuket town is the right place where to go.  I was looking for a destination for a short weekend and a friend of mine suggested me to go to Phuket.  At the beginning I was a little bit skeptical, but then I received a sms with the name of a beautiful place to stay: Phuket346.  A small contemporary art gallery / café/ guest room with only 3 rooms, located in the heart of the old town of Phuket.  A single Sino Portuguese shophouse was transformed from a private house into a new concept of hospitality. In particular this street (soi) preserves the essence of old Phuket, the majority of the shophouses are been restored and transformed into bar, small café and guesthouse. The originally structure of the building has been preserved such as the original water pound, the mid building opening to the sky and the depth of up to 25 meters.  However the first night due to an unexpected event we stayed at Casa104.  Casa104 is another historical shophouse exquisitely renovated into a bistro, guesthouse."  Full post with image gallery here.

NYC townhouse renovation "conceived as new construction upside down in existing building"

From Arch Daily writer Megan Jett: "The Inverted Warehouse/Townhouse, designed by Dean-Wolf Architects, is an addition and renovation of a Tribeca loft building. The existing structure, a traditional New York warehouse covers the entire lot, consuming the exterior space traditional in domestic construction. Inverting the conventional townhouse organization recovers this coveted ground. Dissipating energy into the dark center of this converted warehouse, three double story voids animate the missing 'garden' of the townhouse providing light, air, and visual contemplation.  Conceived as new construction built upside down into an existing building, they dissipate a radiant energy into the host."  Full article with image gallery here.  (Photo credit: Paul Warchol.)

City of Boston chooses developers and designers for 3 small, green, urban, PPP projects

From Boston.com writer Matt Rocheleau: "Three development teams received tentative approval from the city this week to lead projects in Boston that will build a total of 10 environmentally-friendly homes, according to city redevelopment officials.  The 'green' high-performance residences will be located on three city-owned parcels — two in Roxbury on Highland St. and Marcela St., and one in Jamaica Plain on Catherine St. near where the neighborhood meets with Roslindale. Transformations Zero Energy Homes, Sage Builders, and Nickerson Design Services were tentatively designated to develop a $1.1-million project at the Highland Street site that will consist of four condominiums, including one affordable unit. Two Greek Revival style duplexes -- each unit with three bedrooms and one parking space -- will be built.

Urbanica Design + Development and Interface Studio Architects were tentatively approved to develop a $1-million project at the Marcella Street site that will consist of four attached townhouses, including one affordable unit.  Each 1,500 square-foot, three-story townhouse will have 2.5 bathrooms, a full basement, and one parking spot.  GFC Development and Utile, Inc. were tentatively designated to develop a $745,000 project at the Jamaica Plain site that will consist of two three-bedroom townhouses.

Through the Energy Positive (E+) Green Building Demonstration Program, the homes will save homeowners money and meet the highest standards for green and healthy homes, city redevelopment officials have said.  The program is a pilot initiative the mayor’s cabinet, the city’s neighborhood development office, environmental office, and the redevelopment authority in partnership with National Grid, NSTAR, USGBC, Boston Society of Architects, and Boston Architectural College."  Full article here.

Brooklyn townhouses are efficient and contextual, and "give each owner a front door"

From Brooklyn Eagle writer Linda Collins: "Hidrock Realty chose to design its new development on Stillwell Avenue in Bensonhurst with its surrounding neighborhood in mind.  According to Steve Hidary, a principal at Hidrock, the company worked with its architects, Kutnicki Bernstein, to make sure the building fit in.  'It didn’t make much sense to build a modern glass condo tower in an area filled with two- and three-family homes,' he said. 'We built three-story townhouses that give each owner a front door, and make use of every bit of square footage available by eliminating the common areas.'  Hidrock celebrated its first closing recently at the new 24-unit condominium development, known as Stillwell Townhouses.  The brand new development features 16 parking spaces available for purchase.  The location is convenient to Coney Island, several public schools, Bealin Square, as well as the shopping and dining options along Stillwell Avenue and Kings Highway."  Full article here.

Fairfax, VA townhouses are narrow, dense, and in mixed-use, transit oriented community

From Fairfax Times writer Jackie Friedlander: "The Vienna/Fairfax Metro station is the first stop for the Orange Line on its way to Washington and beyond.  The new Pulte at MetroWest community adjoins the station.  The MetroWest community is scheduled for 2,248 townhouses, condos and rental apartments on 56 acres. Plans also call for offices, shops, with 35 percent of the acreage devoted to open space.  With their standard brick fronts, the townhouses in Pulte at MetroWest display the enduring elegance of Northern Virginia’s popular federal style. "The Blake model is 16 feet wide, with 1448 square feet of living space, and on the ground floor a rear-loading one-car garage plus a front recreation room.  The Stuart is 20 feet wide with 1,942 square feet of living space. Its first floor provides a front rec room, a rear-loading two-car garage, and a powder room between them.  The 24-foot-wide Tyler model has 2,470 square feet and on the first floor a front-loading two-car garage and a rec room."  Full article here.

Lansdale, PA rowhouses are "new economy" project: small, prototypical, and urban

From the blog Philadelphia 2050, news of a rowhouse project near my childhood home, too: "I've been at my childhood home in the far suburbs these past few weekends helping my mom move, and what has caught my eye is the first real New Economy project up there.  This is the first project that has been entirely conceived and realized after 2008.  It's called Cannon Square, developed by WB Homes, and it's rowhomes.  It's in inner Lansdale, on the site of old industry with parking lot. "A major thing to note here: New Economy projects are urban. They consist of primarily attached housing in urban contexts (utilization of existing infrastructure), commonly multilevel, with small blocks.  They are designed and realized in smaller footprints, and with smaller budgets.  This style was pioneered with Southwest Center City builders (such as Metro Impact), who have succeeded in bringing economies of standardization to infill, primarily by standardizing rowhome design."  Full post here.

Fine-grained adaptable-use may promote social competence, democracy, econ stability

From Urban Choreography: "A paper by Richard Sennett presented at the Urban Age Project's recent conference in Hong Kong restates the belief expressed by many urbanists that the real purpose or value of cities is to allow locals and strangers to intersect in a way which increases the available choices or opportunities for the maximum number of its residents." Quoting Mr. Sennett's presentation: "A healthy city can embrace and make productive use of the differences of class, ethnicity, and lifestyles it contains, while a sick city cannot.  Learning to interact well with strangers requires a toleration of ambiguity, the capacity to contain frustration, an ability to listen carefully to people whose speech, needs, or desires may seem alien.  Indeed, the entry into adulthood occurs exactly when people become capable of feeling connected to, and even solidarity with, other people who give them no pleasure.

"Because cities are complex social as well as economic and geographic organisms, they are in principle a fertile soil for developing social competence. But we know in fact that they are not.  In today’s cities outside Europe, as they grow to giant size, they become relentlessly more homogeneous and segregated internally.

"People who are ignorant of lives unlike their own are going to have trouble practicing democracy, as the philosopher Hannah Arendt observed in The Human Condition.  They will have trouble understanding and dealing with interests and needs not their own.  Social incompetence also has an economic dimension: the process of communicating bad news and unforeseen threats shuts down.

"I’d like close these remarks about the quality of life in cities by focusing on the Holy Grail for urban designers like myself, the quest to build truly mixed-use environments in order that the inhabitants develop a more complex, adult understanding of one another.  Much of this work has focused on housing, mixing poor and middle-class residents.  But these mixed settlements are all fragile; in time, the middle-classes tend to evict the poor.

"I came to the conclusion that the principle of mixed use is usually not pushed far enough: there has to be a tighter integration of working space and living space, as in interleaving offices and specialised factories as well as shops with housing.  The key to this kind of planning is informality: leaving the mixed spaces open to a succession of small entrepreneurs and businesses. Paradoxically, open, thorough-going mixed-use of this sort tends to stabilize communities."  Full post here.

For more sustainable, equitable urban neighborhoods, experts say stop requiring parking

From Streets Blog writer Noah Kazis, a post about the #1 zoning obstacle to the small urban buildings that make great urban neighborhoods -- parking requirements: "Yesterday, the [New York City] Department of City Planning asked experts from around the country how to make a more sustainable zoning code. Their response?  Scrap parking minimums. "The recommendation came during a major conference held yesterday by DCP and Harvard University. Top urban thinkers from around the country gathered to discuss how the zoning code can make the city more globally competitive, socially equitable, architecturally significant and environmentally sustainable (for a good recap of the conference, check out the Architect’s Newspaper live blog).

"'[Washington has] removed our minimums for most buildings in the downtown and near transit,' said Harriet Tregoning, the director of D.C.’s Office of Planning.  The city received significant pushback from the public and developers, Tregoning admitted, so they developed a compromise. 'You can build more than the maximums, but the first floor of that building has to be level and convertible so that if we’re right and you’re wrong, it can be something useful.'"  Full post here.

New York building for formerly homeless is contextual but challenges conventions

From NYTimes writer Michael Kimmelman: "Bronx Park East opened last year opposite the New York Botanical Garden.  It consists of a five-story brick pavilion with triple-height windows facing the street, and a seven-story wing for 68 small studio apartments.  'A good neighbor,' is how its designer, Jonathan Kirschenfeld, described the building’s look.  Serious architecture is another way to describe Bronx Park East. "It is a single-room occupancy residence, an S.R.O., built to house tenants who had been homeless.  Sunny, with modest kitchens and full bathrooms, its apartments are smaller (around 285 square feet) than otherwise legally permitted for studios in New York because different rules apply to housing for social service clients.  'Isn’t the idea here to improve mental health?' Mr. Kirschenfeld said. 'Isn’t good architecture part of that?'

But the project is exemplary for another reason, too.  Households have evolved.  But New York’s housing stock hasn’t.  The problem? Partly, a collection of sometimes conflicting city and state laws that do things like dictate minimum room sizes and outlaw more than three or four unrelated people sharing an apartment. Other rules compel developers in many parts of town to construct a parking space for each new unit they build, a disincentive for designing smaller, inexpensive apartments.

"As David Burney, the city’s commissioner for the Department of Design and Construction, put it the other day, 'The regulatory environment has fallen behind' the times.  So had a conspicuous part of the architecture world, which, until lately at least, focused on glamour projects rather than on how most people live.  In the past New York has adapted to changing household patterns. For example, grand Upper West Side apartments from a century ago were chopped up to provide more units for smaller families.

The question now is can the city become nimble again?  The Citizens Housing & Planning Council organized a conference the other day, in collaboration with the Architectural League, that tackled these questions.  Their brief was to ignore existing codes and regulations that got in the way of innovative design but to stay real: to focus on what could actually happen in terms of safe, economical construction given a few tweaks to existing laws.

"As Fred A. Bernstein reported on the conclave in The New York Times on Sunday, not everyone was excited by the plans.  But the exercise was instructive anyway. A better, more equitable city, with more smaller, smartly designed, adaptable apartments and houses, is within reach."  Full article here.  (Photo credit: Rodrigo Pereda.)

Chicago townhouse achieves LEED platinum luxury with support of home-owner association

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YXg7On6O04]From Chicago Tribune writer Pamela Dittmer McKuen: "Kathie and Art Howe decided to redo the kitchen in their 25-year-old North Side town house. They hired an architect and a general contractor, and the foursome started talking.  Someone suggested replacing the three-story staircase, which was wrapped in claustrophobia-inducing drywall.  Someone else mentioned green construction.  Next thing you know, the Howes moved out, and the town house was stripped down to studs and subfloor. "The four-bedroom town house is one of 62 units clustered around a wooded courtyard.  The association board has been a significant member of the construction team.  Opening the roof to put in a larger skylight would have invalidated the association's existing warranty, for example. But the board did some research and found that if the Howes used the original installer to do their work, the roofing manufacturer would hold the warranty.  In another instance, when the interior drywall was removed, several areas of water infiltration were discovered. Those problems were the board's responsibility, and it took almost immediate steps to remedy them, so the Howes could continue with their work.

"The Howes' renovation is believed to be the first gut rehab of an attached town house in the Chicago area, and possibly in the country, to seek LEED platinum status, said Jason La Fleur, regional director for the Chicago-based Alliance for Environmental Sustainability and the LEED consultant who is working with the couple on their certification.  They credit general contractor Brian Anderson of Echo Development for building their point total.  'In Chicago and in America, there is a lot of sustainable focus on new construction, but the question is, what to do with the 100 million or so units that exist,' said the Howes' architect, William Scholtens of Elements Architectural Group."  Full article here, and other good article here.

Abaco Islands, Bahamas project includes townhouses in marina village

500 Twitter followers!  Loyal reader Matt Anders, architect and generous volunteer for DawnTown, is working on a development in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas that includes townhouses in its marina village.  Matt sent these photos of a few constructed townhouses, whose architectural style is attractive and I don't think previously featured on Townhouse Center.  The project is called Baker's Bay and the developer is Discovery Land Company.  Compact townhouses should create a feeling of community around the marina, and allow the developer to leave more of the island in its natural beauty.  More resort communities should be composed of townhouses rather than detached houses.