MARCH 2015 — Last month, Planning and Zoning approved the two-lot subdivision that would hopefully become the address of realsmarthouse #1. This long-awaited development turned our dismal New England winter into a sunny spot of optimistic progress. Mark churned out plans and elevations before heading to Rome with his architecture students for spring study break, and I began contractor and materials scheduling (even bought a great Kraus kitchen faucet on sale.)
Then the lawyers showed up.
To make a long story short, an adjacent landowner decided to sue P&Z and "our" lot's current owner for allowing it to be subdivided, claiming that the town's land records are wrong, the commission acted improperly, etc. The folks involved on our side of the dispute are confident the madness will subside and the issues resolved favorably in perhaps eight months, minimum. This was disheartening enough to send me out on Zillow again, looking for other land to build on. Frustration can be energizing — in three crazy days I found a small lot in town, researched and conceptualized a realsmarthouse for its FEMA VE area (high-velocity maximum flood hurricane zone,) had the specs and drawings reviewed by the zoning enforcement officer, and — certainly not for the first time — deeply questioned my sanity. Well, it has been a long winter.
Putting my hands up and stepping away from the computer seemed a wise choice at this point, but I needed to understand the bigger picture behind our land dilemma, beyond lawyers and the Alice in Wonderland-style proceedings. In my white paper archive was an unread 120-page report from McKinsey Global Institute entitled "A blueprint for addressing the global affordable housing challenge." Could this possibly shed some light on the madness? MGI was all about global challenges and infrastructure opportunities in developing countries, not about "smart" housing in affluent Connecticut. And yet...
And yet, all housing schemas everywhere have a few things in common, regardless of scale or location. They all need land, construction techniques, materials, energy systems and perceived value/affordability. In their report, MGI presents four key levers to create new housing, focussed on affordability:
- Unlocking land supply at the right location is the most critical step in providing affordable housing;
- An industrial approach is essential to deliver housing quickly, on a large scale, and at the desired cost;
- Efficiencies in operations and maintenance can reduce costs and preserve sound housing stock;
- Expanding access to lending and reducing financing costs can help buyers and developers of affordable housing.
Part of the realsmarthouse ethos has always been to find the least expensive ways to build the most efficient and durable homes, whether luxury or affordable housing, and make them look and perform beautifully. The scalable commercial building systems we employ work for virtually any size or configuration of dwelling. "Efficiencies in operations and maintenance" are passive house gospel. Smart design and execution guide the whole process. So items 2 and 3 in the MGI report made me feel a bit better — in the big picture, we are certainly going in the right direction. #4 requires innovation at the financial and institutional level, which is outside of our scope. But clearly #1, land supply, is indeed the most critical. The fact that it's been difficult to find reasonably priced land in this neck of the woods just underscores its rarity in the rest of the world. When land to build on — to live, thrive and grow on — becomes hard to acquire, that is a real problem. Our example is just litigious neighbors, but you have to wonder if the planet's getting a bit crowded.
On the upside, we now have more time to refine the plans and elevations for our prototype, which will be a variant of the New American Barn model. Have fun watching over our shoulders as this evolves, and if you'd like updates sent to you just sign up here.
“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”
— The Queen of Hearts, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Good reads: The Rise of the Hybrid Home | What's a Real Smart House? | Location: Daylight | Process: Design