Final Four at HUD

The Village Model. A systems approach to sociability, sustainability & replicability.

Render: Isil Akgül.

Final Four at HUD

by Jay Skardis [CRP]

Now in its fifth year, the Federal Agency for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Innovation in Affordable Housing (IAH) competition is open to teams from graduate schools throughout the country. For the 2018 competition, a group of five students from the City and Regional Planning (CRP), Sustainable Environmental Systems (SES), and Real Estate Practice (REP) disciplines within the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE) at Pratt Institute were chosen by the faculty to compete. And in December of 2017, Isil Akgül (SES), Larissa Ly (CRP), Olivia Norfleet (CRP), Brandon O’Halloran (REP), and Jay Skardis (CRP) submitted their application. They were one of 106 teams.

An affordable housing project scheduled to be built, or renovated, is chosen by HUD each year as the location for each team’s theoretical design. HUD’s directive for the competition design was to bring innovative solutions to all aspects of the process, from finance to design, architecture, environmental impacts, and social services programming. The more innovative the better, while being able to justify how these solutions would work, within a timeframe, and within the budget.

Topographical and zoning maps of a two-and-a-half-acre site two miles from the center of Dover, New Hampshire, with existing buildings, was provided to each team. The directive was given to increase the density of the site by 154 units to accommodate the senior and disabled residents of two downtown properties slated to be sold, the funds from which would partially be used for the new construction, with a total budget of $30 million. It was up to each team to figure out everything else.

Research was delved into throughout the winter break on the location, zoning, building typologies, demographics, economic, social, and environmental factors, local and regional influences, financing and federal loan possibilities, and social services for the senior and disabled population that would join those already living on the property. A conviction to design for these seniors and disabled residents became the driver of the project. And, this and the social services aspect, became the focus that influenced the concept and design that was distilled from this extensive process for the Phase I submission, of a narrative and four slides, in January.

The Sustainable Village.

Render: Isil Akgül.

It is this conviction, conveyed in the narrative, and shown in the effort put into the renderings and slides, that convinced the judges to choose Pratt’s entry as one of the ‘Final Four’ teams selected from the 106 entries. These four teams were invited to present their projects, as Phase II, at HUD’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. in May.

After the excitement of being selected, work continued. A presentation narrative was developed, and six slides were created, which would serve to convey the extent of the research and design for the 20-minute presentation to the judges and audience at the headquarters. It was a large endeavor, but worth it in the end to return to Pratt and present the GCPE Chair with the award. Hopefully, it will be the first of many gained by future Pratt teams.

Final Four presentations for each year can be viewed on HUD’s website: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/challenge/home.html