Like many urban areas, fitting new construction into existing neighborhoods while keeping the flavor of the area is always a challenge. In fact, Portland, Oregon's citizens began complaining about lackluster new construction so much that city officials decided to do something proactive about it.
They solicited design ideas in a contest called "Living Smart" for better use of the typical 25-foot wide subdivided lots of urban Portland neighborhoods. The goal was to come up with a few good plans that could be pre-approved and fast-tracked for development and not invoke local backlash.
What they came up with is a shining example of design ingenuity. Two slender residences now sit snugly together on a home site on Portland's Knapp Street (formerly containing one single-family home). Their original price tags of $319,000 each were Portland-affordable, the neighbors love them and the clincher is that the plans came with a bonus -- a permit-ready 50 percent discount on development fees -- something for which many builder/developers would surely dance a jig.
The tidy three-bedroom, two bath homes selected by the city were designed by Berkeley, CA-based architects Roxanna Vargas and Trent Greenan to acts as models of what skinny infill should embody. Graced with exposed cedar outriggers, heavy timbering and deeply recessed windows, the Knapp Street homes epitomize the Pacific Northwest style.
The 1516 square foot front-loaded garage configuration (which can grow to 1700 square feet if a garage space is made into living space) also boasts an energy efficient rating that exceeds Oregon code by 50 percent. The home also has more windows that a typical home of its square footage because of the narrow nature of their design. For more information, cue in "Living Smart" at portlandonline.com.
