Monday, December 17, 2012

Housing Colorado: Design By Community

Site Plan
Recently, Paul Brady, helped lead the 2012 Housing Colorado Design by Community Charrette held in October in Vail, Colorado. This annual event, put on by Housing Colorado, is a great opportunity for students and professionals within the industry to get involved and collaborate on real projects that benefit the community.  Each year, the Charrette chooses three projects from across the state of Colorado including an urban, rural and mountain/resort.  With jv DeSousa of Workshop9, Paul led the mountain/resort project focused on designing workforce housing for young professionals in Estes Park, CO.


Planning for the Charrette began in August through a partnership with the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado, Denver where 6 students began preparatory work as part of a class.  Then in September before the conference, the design team held a community meeting where they listened to the concerns, needs and desires of nearby residents and other stakeholders in the Town of Estes Park including:  

  • Build a variety of housing types
  • Design a mountain rustic aesthetic
  • Be sensitive to the wild-life movements
  • Build workforce housing for young professionals
  • Incorporate a child care facility 
  • Focus towards mixed incomes
  • Create community amenities 


Overlook Terrace
Above you can see in the site plan, the project was comprised of both row homes and cluster homes totaling 66 units. The units and buildings in the community have been staggered, allowing residence to have a bit more privacy and greater views from their own private patio. This was especially important in this location because the community wanted to take advantage of the amazing surrounding views. Another way that the community will take advantage of the surrounding landscape is by creating an overlook terrace at the center of the development (shown at right). In addition to allowing open space for the residents, the overlook terraces help maintain the natural migration path of the local wildlife.  The project will cost approximately $11.3 million and will rely on low income housing tax credits, state and local HOME credits, local government fee waivers and a small amount of private donations.

Final Rendering

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