Green Building Elements

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Communities full of “McMansions” seem to be everywhere these days, and they have plenty of buyers standing at the ready. Many of these oversized suburban homes are considered starter homes, making it easy to forget that the majority of middle income Americans will never be able to afford such a house in their lifetime.

This fall, the City of Portland sponsored the Portland Courtyard Housing Design Competition, which solicited ideas for urban infill housing that would appeal to families with children. In the face of rising housing costs, Portland has identified shared courtyards as offering similar lifestyle benefits to detached housing, while remaining affordable and increasing urban density.

The competition brief requested that entrants pay particular attention to the potentially conflicting roles of the courtyard space itself. Could a recreational space share turf with automobiles? Could the courtyard offer homeowners some privacy while still being connected to the larger streetscape? And could it fulfill all of these criteria while still functioning sustainably?

Competition entries and winners are posted on the competition website, and are well worth browsing through. The proposed solutions explore different ways to meet the needs of urban communities. All of them maintain a residential feel, with building massing and setbacks designed in a way that helps to define individual dwelling units. Many of the structures cue “home” through the use of conventional building materials. The various designs also devise methods of layering spaces in order to create public-to-private transition zones — a few even utilize roof surfaces as decks or common areas. Some plans offer package-type options: homeowners can decide for themselves whether they would prefer a third bedroom or parking space for a second car. And every competition entry proposes detailed sustainability measures.

The City of Portland will be involved in seeing that winning designs get built. They plan to offer funding for the adaptation of competition entries to existing sites, and will help developers partner with the winning teams.

Photo Credit: Portland Courtyard Housing Design Competition