Reinventing Microhousing - Yobi Tour Follow-up

We had a great turnout for our tour of the Yobi Apartments last week.  About a hundred people came through, many of whom had never seen the inside of a micro-housing development. Our goal for the tour was to open people's eyes to what micro-housing can be: Good housing that provides opportunities for people to live in central locations and desirable neighborhoods, without any need for public subsidy.

In 2014, legislation virtually ended the production of micro-housing in Seattle. For the trickle of micro-housing that remains in the pipeline, further legislation this spring cut off micro-housing from participation in the Multi-Family Tax exemption program (MFTE), a program that provides property tax exemption in return for providing discounted rent on 20% of the units.

Prior to the shutdown, Seattle was producing about 1000 microhousing units per year, with market rents that generally range from about $700-$1000/mo.  That rent is affordable to people making 50%-65% of area median income (AMI).  Participation in the MFTE would drop that rent to $628/mo, which equals 40% of AMI, or put more simply, is affordable to someone making minimum wage.

A little context: Seattle will spend the next two years pulling out hair and rending garments in order to pass the up-zones needed to enact an inclusionary zoning plan that will build six thousand units of 60% AMI affordable housing over ten years.  In the same time, we could build ten thousand units of micro-housing that would serve incomes at 40%-65% AMI.  What do we need to do to build those ten thousand units?  Virtually nothing. Just pull out the cork.

This year, we will be pushing hard to correct the flawed policy on MFTE that excludes microhousing from the program.  Next year, when the majority of the HALA recommendations come before the council, we will be making the case for changes to zoning that will remove the de-facto ban on microhousing.  In the meantime, we'll just keep building the best housing that we can.

Some reactions to Yobi:

http://www.smartgrowthseattle.org/yobi-apartments-microhousing/

Facebook feeds below.  Note, Councilmember O'Brien missed the tour but made arrangements for a walkthrough later in the week.

Calling All Artists! - Reinventing Microhousing Part II

We need your input - Artist Survey!

We recently started design for ArtWorks, our latest design + development effort since completing our award winning Marion Green Townhomes. Artworks explores the intersection of affordability with livable communities.  We are continuing our earlier work on micro-housing, this time to serve the needs of the local artist community.

As Seattle struggles with affordability within the urban center there is a clear need to provide affordable housing for artists. There are various models for that to happen, including subsidized housing (slow and limited funding available) and co-op housing (difficult to coordinate financially and legally), but these models will never come close to meeting demand. The Artspsace program, for example, currently has a waiting list of over 1000 people for their 150 units. The model that our firm is exploring with Artworks is based on a congregate residence similar to what we designed for the Yobi Apartments, where each individual rents a small, affordable personal live/work space and enjoys access to a larger communal creative space. Artists are a group that both needs affordable housing and could benefit from a communal living arrangement that brings artists together to share work, ideas, events, and creative foment.

The Artworks site is located across the street from the Artspace Hiawatha Lofts at South Charles Street and Hiawatha Place South in the lower Central District.  This map shows some of the neighboring art facilities and institutions that will be part of the network of resources available to Artworks tenants:

The building is composed of 33 sleeping units over 3 floors plus a daylight basement. Each resident will enjoy a storage loft in their unit, a common kitchen on each floor, and a main floor commons including a lounge, kitchen and laundry. The street level space is dedicated for a tenant that can provide a facility that would provide an amenity useful to working artists.  At this time, we are hoping to find an organization that focuses on some aspect of digital arts, such as a computer lab, maker space, 3d printing and fabrication, or other related facility.  We are willing to provide space at below market rent in exchange for finding tenant that is a good fit and can be of use to our tenants. Please contact our office if you or an organization you know may be interested in renting the space when the project is complete.  

In addition to looking for a tenant partner from within the arts community, we are seeking feedback from the creative community and area stakeholders on the current Artworks proposal. Artists, please tell us what you think and share this survey with others who might be interested in the Artworks project.

Follow-up: Unit sizes range from small basement units at around 150sf to lofted units ranging from 200-300sf.  Small units are expected to rent for around $700/mo.  Lofted units are expected to rent from $850-$1000/mo.  If the city follows the HALA recommendations and changes the rules to allow congregate housing to participate the Multi-Family Tax Exemption program, seven units would have rents capped at $620/mo.

Reinventing Microhousing - Yobi Apartments Open House Tour Aug 25th 5:30-7:30pm (NEW DATE)

NOTE - DATE HAS CHANGED: AUGUST 25TH 5:30-7:30PM  - 1219 E MARION ST

The Yobi Apartments is finally ready.  This project has been much discussed as a new model for how to build microhousing in Seattle.  The Yobi was designed from the ground up with the conviction that congregate housing can be a desirable housing option where the architecture and the shared features can support chance interaction and help to build community among the residents.  For microhousing proponents and critics alike, we welcome you this open house to learn more about microhousing and what it can be.

Event Invitation and RSVP:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reinventing-microhousing-come-tour-the-yobi-apartments-tickets-17914814693

Some related reading:

Our original post describing the project:
http://neimanarchitects.blogspot.com/2013/03/re-inventing-microhousing.html

A review of microhousing code issues and basic metrics:
http://www.theurbanist.org/2014/09/18/an-architects-perspective-the-details-of-microhousing-projects/

A discussion of the The Yobi's sustainable features and energy use:
http://neimanarchitects.blogspot.com/2015/02/re-inventing-microhousing-yobi.html


Should the Seattle City Council revisit restrictions on micro-housing?
http://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2015/7/17/hala-report-calls-for-modifying-barriers-to-pod-apartments

Marion Green Wins 2015 PSRC Vision 2040 Award

We had a little party today to accept a Puget Sound Regional Council Vision 2040 award for our Marion Green Townhouses. The homes were completed a few months ago, but this is a project that has been more or less nine years in the making.

In 2006, Scott Clawson and Todd Allan walked into my office with a piece of land. They wanted to build a little townhouse project, keep one unit for themselves & hold the other two as rentals.  At the time I was just starting to get into development projects.  I knew very little about townhouses, just enough to be aware that virtually every project was built in the same way:  Build units in the front, units in the back, and the center of the site is a driveway zone that gets you to the parking garages.  Scott and Todd asked me if I could design them one of these. I took one look at the cross section of the building & said "well, you could, but this is a really bad housing design.  Why not just cover the center with a deck?  That would hide all of the car parking & the center of the project becomes a community open space that you all enjoy."   Simple, right?

Turns out why not is because this concept violated about a dozen development standards of Seattle's land use code.  To do this simple little project we had to volunteer go through the design review process to get permission to depart from all of the various standards that we’d need to get the project done.  All told it took over two years to get our permit approvals, and by the time we work our way through the process, it was the fall of 2008, which you may recall was when the entire economy collapsed.  Bank financing dried up, the project foundered, and never got built.

I was upset that we didn’t get this little jewel of a project built but even more so that as a city, our codes were wound so tight that it was a “good ideas to the back of the line” kind of situation.  As it turned out, the Department of Planning and Development was of a similar mindset, and beginning to study a re-write of the multi-family code.  It was becoming clear that we needed to liberalize our land use code if we were going to make good housing possible.  I spent the recession organizing a group architects to work with the city on the code language, and also to go out into the community to give presentations, explain the code changes and why they were necessary.

By 2011, we had a new code in place, and as it turned out I was the person who had spent the most time reading it.  This gave me an opportunity to meet a lot of developers who came to me to ask what was possible under the new code.  This is how I met Joe Paar.  He was one of the first people that recognized the value of combining technical code knowledge and design skill to develop more successful projects, in every sense.  When I decided to develop my first project, I needed a partner to help make the finances work.  Joe was the guy that I asked for help & within a couple minutes discussion we were off to the races.  Joe was a true partner at every step of the way, and he deserves a lot of credit for getting this project successfully to the finish line.

All told it took nine years from the first sketch to where we got to stand in the courtyard with the project team and take a victory lap.  From the outset my goal was to build a better mousetrap:  Provide a replicable model for a better way to do infill housing in Seattle. I truly believe we’ve done that.  We’ve found a way to hide the cars, create more open space, break down project scale, bring more natural light into the homes, and most importantly, provide a commons that helps facilitate and build community among the families that share this little plot of land.  I'm also happy to say that other people have started to pick up on this model.  There are now four other courtyard lid projects in the works, two by our office, but two others by different architect/developer teams. It is my hope that the recognition that we are received today will help to spread the word and speed the adoption of this new housing archetype in the marketplace.

Thank you to the residents of Marion Green for sharing you home with us today. I hope you enjoy living in Marion Green as much as we enjoyed making it for you.

Project Team:

Architect:  David Neiman and Juan Vergara - Neiman Taber Architects

Developer:  David Neiman and Joe Paar - Paar Development
Structural Engineer:  Jim Harriott and Benjamin Bird - Harriott Valentine Engineers
Landscape Architect: Patricia Lenssen - Philbin Landscape Architects

Geotechnical Engineer: Rob Ward - Geotech Consultants
General Contractor:  Peter Ottele and Doug Scheer - Village Builders
Strategy and Marketing:  Joe Paar - Paar Development
Sales Agent:  Jacob Menashe - Berkshire Hathaway

Madison Apartments Update

Neiman Taber and the Philbin Group presented the Madison Apartments project to the East Design Review Board for a recommendation meeting on March 25^th. At the Early Design Guidance meeting last summer, the project was well received. However, the Board asked us to provide the following:

• Studies of the parking area and trellis in elevation and perspective.
• Well managed connection between two building masses at the corner of 23^rd and Denny
• Demonstrate a contextual response and sustainable focus within the neighborhood.

The project proposes a landscape wire trellis over the parking area and a landscape screen wall to the east. The screen wall will be a black 4” x 8” welded wire mesh fencing with steel vertical posts. The horizontal trellis above the parking court will be a stainless steel cable, tensioner and clevis system. Virginia creeper plantings will provide screening from the parking area for residents in the building and to existing neighbors to the east. 

East Elevation

At the intersection between the Madison and Denny facades, the project celebrates the corner with a façade that is more transparent, features a double height retail space, and expresses the geometry of the site by featuring a sharp prow that is typical of triangular sites in the Madison corridor.

The transition from the corner prow to the Denny façade has been made larger to create some visual space between the two masses and allow them to resolve in a more successful fashion. Planting will provide an accent between the buildings. 

The project intends to provide a number of features to create a visually interesting and friendly pedestrian environment along all three sides of the building. 

Aerial View Looking East

At the residential level, large windows and balconies bring eyes and human activity to the face of the building and increase natural surveillance of the public realm. Along the Madison corridor, the façade design features large storefronts, projecting / stepped awnings, and a certain degree of visually dynamic asymmetrical composition.  

Perspective Looking Across 23rd Avenue 

Street level notches are the minimum size required to provide accessible entries along a sloping right of way. Street level uses have generous glazing and clear sight lines that create natural surveillance of these notches. 

Perspective Looking Up Madison 

Along Denny, the project uses similar materials as Madison Ave, but there is no expressed storefront base, no continuous canopy, and the composition is more ordered and quiet. The residential mezzanine level reduces the visual impact of the parking garage and the height of the blank wall. 

Perspective Looking Down Denny Way

The project provides a residential access alcove that brings pedestrian activity to Denny. There is a 2’ continuous planting bed between the building and the sidewalk.

Residential Entry

The project has been designed to accommodate small floor plates which allow the building to adapt to the difficult slope and corner nature of the site. The narrow floor plate creates units that are designed to maximize access to natural light. 

The project has been specifically designed to step the lower levels of the building in order to adapt to the sloping public way.  This stepping allows for a more porous edge along the Madison commercial corridor. 

The scale transition from our project to the adjacent Crush restaurant was discussed by the board, who concluded that the scale transition was not of concern. The project has been designed to zone commercial activity to the Madison side and residential activity to the Denny side. Rooftop amenity areas have been located on the Madison side of the project to be farthest away from the neighboring residents. The visual impacts of blank walls have been minimized.  The NE blank wall features unit balconies that create depth and shadow, and a composition of colored panel siding to add visual interest. The SE blank wall features a frame-infill pattern that echoes the Denny facade.  A portion of this wall has been set back three feet to allow for windows in the façade to increase visual interest.

Aerial Looking West

The project received high praise from neighbors and the Board. They acknowledged the hard work the design team did to successfully develop a challenging site, provide housing and commercial opportunities that are scaled to the needs of the neighborhood, and create a high quality building. We expect permits to be ready for July 2015 start of construction.

Re-Inventing Micro Housing - Tour this Saturday 11am-5pm

This Saturday, April 26th, the NW Green Homes Tour is featuring The Yobi Apartments, a new congregate micro-housing project (about 90% complete) that we designed from the ground up around the goal of facilitating chance interaction and fostering community among residents.  I hope you'll be able to stop by to take a look.

Tour information:

Yobi Apartments - 1219 E Marion St - April 26th 11am-5pm.  FREE!

http://www.nwgreenhometour.org/2015-tour-sites/yobi-apartments​

Orcas Island Cabin

David Taber here with a post about a new cabin that is starting construction this summer:

From the ferry, the site is an enjoyable 10 minute drive through rural farm land to the northern edge of the island. The  5 acre, steep slope property will provide a year round getaway for this extended Seattle family.    

The property has expansive views of the water and the northern most San Juan Islands beyond.  Access to the rocky shoreline 140 feet below is attained by a meandering path through the rugged landscape and a steep wooden staircase. 

Site Section

The detached garage/guest house have been located deep into into the property, away from the secondary access road and nestled in-between several old growth Douglas Fir trees. Further downhill, the cabin is accessed by foot, down a set of stairs and across a short, steel framed bridge. 

Entry/Upper Level Plan

From the bridge there are views through the cabin to the water beyond.  Designed as an "upside down house", the living areas are on the upper level in order to take full advantage of the dramatic views and natural light.  Spaces have been placed along the east/west axis and oriented north.  Expansive bi-folding glass doors spill out onto a deck which runs the length of the cabin and terminates at a covered outdoor dining area adjacent to the kitchen. Two master suites have been stacked and isolated from the the cabin by a glass enclosed stair tower.

Lower Level Floor Plan

The lower level contains the second master suite, two additional bedrooms with a shared full bath, and a large multi-functional playroom.  Each primary space spills out onto a narrow stone terrace which connect to a small play area, numerous hiking trails and the family fire pit.  

View of cabin and detached garage/guest house beyond

Stair Tower 

Floor to ceiling windows maximize water views to the north and secluded wooded views to the south.  Open stair risers and cable railings increase natural light to the playroom and hall at the bottom of the stairway.   

Kitchen / Dining 

Select Douglas Fir trees cleared for construction will be seasoned and milled for exposed structural members, flooring, ceilings and finished millwork.  The open kitchen, living and dining areas are flooded with natural northern and eastern light by large transom windows and wide sliding glass doors.

Stay tuned for the construction photos coming this summer!

Re-inventing Microhousing - The Yobi Apartments Tour April 25-26

Yobi Apartments is one of our most exciting new housing projects.  We've written about the project in earlier posts, discussing its innovative approach to micro-housing and design features that promote community among the residents.  The project will be featured in the NW GreenHome Tour on April 25^th & 26^th, so I thought we’d take a post to review the project’s sustainability.

The project has a number of notable sustainable features.  Like most of our work, it is certified Built Green 4 Star, which means that it has met performance criteria over a broad range of categories, including stormwater management, water use, energy use, indoor air quality, and waste reduction.  The project is particularly interesting when you look at its energy usage.

Yobi Apartments has a number of energy saving features, including a high performance exterior envelope, spray foam insulation, passive solar design, high efficiency lighting, and high efficiency gas boilers.  All together, the project has an energy use budget that is 60% of what is required under the current energy code.  That’s pretty good in and of itself, but it’s only half of the picture.

Energy use for buildings is usually measured in a unit called EUI (Mbtu/sf/year). EUI is useful for comparing one building to another in terms of energy use per square foot. Micro-housing is very space efficient & each occupant uses dramatically less square footage than what you see in typical housing, so to really understand the building’s performance you have to look a bit beyond EUI.

A typical code compliant apartment building will have an EUI of about 40.  If you include common areas and circulation, a conventional apartment takes up about 800sf of floor area for each unit.  Yobi Apartments has rather ordinary EUI of 38, but Yobi uses only 280sf per unit.  So, when you take space efficiency into account, you start to see just how energy efficient small apartments can be.  A person living in the Yobi uses roughly 1/3 of the energy of someone living in a conventionally designed apartment building. 

	EUI (Mbtu/sf/yr)	SF per unit	EU per unit (Mbtu/yr)	% Energy use compared to typical apartment
Typical Apartment Building	40	800	32	100%
Yobi Apartments	38.7	280	10.8	33.8%

The Yobi apartments represents a very important housing type, providing private market affordable housing in a desirable location, designed to promote community and a featuring a carbon footprint per occupant that is leaps and bounds ahead of conventional housing.  Ironically, Yobi may be both the first and last project of its kind.  Projects like Yobi were largely banned by anti-microhousing legislation passed in November the city council.  It is our hope that city officials and council-members will take advantage of the Green home tour to see Yobi and come to an understanding of just how much baby was thrown out with the bathwater.

Yobi Apartments Project Team:

Architect:  David Neiman and Liz Pisciotta - Neiman Taber Architects

Structural Engineer:  Todd Valentine and Brice Parrish - Harriott Valentine Engineers

Landscape Architect: Patricia Lenssen, Philbin Landscape Architects

General Contractor and Development Services:  Trent Mummery, Metropolitan Company

Marketing and Leasing: Chasten Fulbright, Blanton Turner

Marion Green Featured on Architizer

We recently submitted our Marion Green Courtyard project for an Architizer A+ Award.  Hard to say what our chances are with the awards jury, but we clearly got the attention of the editorial staff.  They are now featuring the project on their homepage. http://architizer.com/