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The Magazine of The National Association of Home Builders

LOFT Y A M BITIONS S I X TE E N A WA R D - W I N N I N G R ESIDENTIAL

PLUS Streamline sales and product strategies around the customer experience

September 2019

PROJECTS THAT PUSH

DESIGN TO NEW HEIGHTS

Are you ready to build your homes with the connected appliances they expect? samsung.com/builder Source: Coldwell Banker, Blue Matter blog, August 10, 2016 Copyright Š 2019 Samsung Electronics America, Inc. All rights reserved. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

44% of move-in ready buyers demand smart home technology.

Some Views Are Worth A More Carefully Engineered Window.

The way a window is made determines the way it will perform. That’s why we make our own insulated glass with state-of-the-art glazing equipment, why we continuously upgrade our glass technology to address specific weather and environmental conditions, and why we use non-metal foam spacers that dramatically improve energy efficiency and seal integrity. Our no-compromise approach means every window and door we create is built to withstand the elements, one stunning season after another. www.SierraPacificWindows.com

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Photo: Tony Moody, Moody Images

Photographer: Jeremy Bittermann

October 21–22, 2019 The Miami Beach EDITION

For the first time ever, industry leaders will gather for FuturePlace

sustainability goals, health and well-being, access to transportation

on October 21–22 at The Miami Beach EDITION, to discuss the

and social programming. This is layered on to heightening consumer

most brilliant deliveries for the communities of tomorrow, evaluate

expectations for access to a lifestyle that fits their personal brand.

the challenges ahead, discuss solutions and make deals.

Through a full day of networking, educational sessions and

The future of development takes on critical design challenges

discussion, developers, land owners, investors, and builders will walk

to deliver beyond just shelter to housing that incorporates

away with true action items to create communities of tomorrow.

LEARN MORE | BuilderOnline.com/FuturePlace

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NAHB International Builders’ Show Rates* start at: $50 NAHB members $100 Non-members *Early-bird deals expire November 15, see BuildersShow.com/fees for details.

GET REAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS Cutting-edge information & hot trends

see THE LATEST PRODUCTS Construction demos & 1,400+ exhibitors

EXCHANGE IDEAS Meet key partners & industry experts

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JANUARY 17-23 | NAHB MEETINGS JANUARY 18-20 | PRE-SHOW LEARNING JANUARY 21-23 | IBS EDUCATION & EXHIBITS

PRE-SHOW LEARNING New for 2019 Master Workshops | Monday, January 20 Previously known as Master Sessions, these advanced, 3-hour workshops dig deep into specific industry topics such as Digital Transformation and Customer Service.

NAHB Education Courses | Saturday, January 18 - Monday, January 20 Sixteen courses held before the start of IBS 2020. These one-day courses will give participants the chance to increase their skill sets by delving deep into industry topics, all while earning CEUS. Check out BuildersShow.com/preshow to learn more.

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INSTANTLY TRANSFORM any interior with the new Livingston door.

AFTER Unique. Versatile. Timeless.

Masonite’s exclusive new design is making homeowners stop and take notice of their doors. Set yourself apart by selecting the only molded door designed to make a lasting statement.

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BEFORE

SEPTEMBER 2019

Contents Deltec’s prefabricated panoramic homes are designed to work with nature’s unpredictability.

DEPARTMENTS 20

NAHB Notes

From the Editor Up Front

24

Pulse

36

Design Trends

42

Products

50

Construction

58

Business

103

Chairman’s Letter

104

Home Innovation Research Labs

106

Dietz’s Economy

112

Last Detail

E X PA N D E D C O V E R AG E Visit us online at builderonline.com for more from our design awards winners

Cover: Anice Hoachlander; This page: Courtesy Deltec Homes (top); Casey Dunn (bottom)

50

F E AT U R E S

66

2019 Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Awards In our latest awards program, 16 winning projects represent some of the best residential design work being constructed today.

Our jurors praised function in smaller footprints, use of innovative building materials, and remodels that respect existing architecture.

By Symone Garvett, Edward Keegan, Mary Salmonsen, and Vincent Salandro

Volume 42, number 9. Builder (ISSN 0744-1193; USPS 370-600) is published 12 times per year: monthly in Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. by Hanley Wood, 1152 15th St. NW, Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20005, for the National Association of Home Builders and printed in the USA. Copyright 2019 by Hanley Wood. Opinions expressed are those of the authors or persons quoted and not necessarily those of the NAHB. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written authorization. Single-copy price: $8.00 (except House Plans issues, which are $12.95). Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Builder, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065-9831. Member: Business Publications Audit, American Business Media.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

SEPTEMBER 2019

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BUILDER 9

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THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS

John McManus, editorial director/ residential construction Jennifer Lash, editor-in-chief Tina Tabibi, design director Bill Gloede, director of content operations Scott Sowers, senior editor Mary Salmonsen, assistant editor Symone Garvett, assistant editor

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Andy Reid, chief operating officer Jennifer Pearce, executive vice president/ chief content officer Sarah Welcome, executive vice president/ operations Christie Bardo, senior vice president/ digital and residential construction Ned Cramer, vice president/editorial John McManus, vice president/editorial Bridget Forbes, vice president/ digital strategy and operations Mari Skelnik, vice president/client operations

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Jeff Meyers, chief executive officer Melissa Billiter, chief financial officer Andrew Reid, chief operating officer Ron Kraft, vice president/finance Tim Sullivan, senior managing principal/ advisory group Kurt Nelson, group vice president/talent strategy Amy Dudley, executive vice president/ national sales Phil Hernandez, director of sales/emerging accounts group Keith Rosenbloom, vice president/ corporate controller editorial and advertising offices 1152 15th St. NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-452-0800; Fax: 202-785-1974 subscription inquiries and back issue orders 888-269-8410 or email: builder@omeda.com NAHB members please call 800-368-5242 x8546 circulation customer service hanleywood.omeda.com/bldr list rental The Information Refinery, Brian Clotworthy, 800-529-9020; brian@inforefinery.com privacy of mailing list Sometimes we share our subscriber mailing list with reputable companies we think you’ll find interesting. However, if you do not wish to be included, please call us at 888-269-8410.

Canada Post Registration #40612608/G.S.T. number: R-120931738. canadian return address IMEX, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 postmaster Send address changes to Builder, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065 BUILDER occasionally will write about companies in which its parent organization, Hanley Wood, has an investment interest. When it does, the magazine will fully disclose that relationship.

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Introducing LP® SmartSide® Smooth Trim & Siding.

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© 2019 Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. All rights reserved. LP and SmartSide are registered trademarks of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS

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to order reprints Wright’s Media 877-652-5295 or hanleywood@wrightsmedia.com

advertising sales offices Ron Spink, executive vice president/ build/design group phone: 202-736-3431 email: rspink@hanleywood.com Christie Bardo, senior vice president/ digital and residential construction phone: 703-307-3014 email: cbardo@hanleywood.com Dan Colunio, vice president, sales/ remodeling, distribution, & design phone: 617-304-7297 email: dcolunio@hanleywood.com

Walpole classics, kits to custom.

Choose easy-to-assemble kits – or custom designs with Walpole CAD support. Pergolas, corbels, railing, trellis, shower enclosures and more crafted in low maintenance AZEK. Call 800-343-6948 or visit walpoleoutdoors.com

Norma Figueroa, account coordinator, team lead phone: 773-824-2412 fax: 773-824-2540 email: nfigueroa@hanleywood.com Paul Pettersen, strategic account director 112 Kingsbury Road, Garden City, NY 11530 phone: 516-252-8020 fax: 202-785-1974 email: ppettersen@hanleywood.com Kay Ross-Baker, strategic account manager 5600 N. River Road, Suite 250, Rosemont, IL 60018 phone: 630-707-0811 fax: 773-824-2401 email: krossbaker@hanleywood.com Carol Weinman, senior strategic account director 395 Del Monte Center, Suite 317, Monterey, CA 93945 phone: 831-373-6125 fax: 831-373-6069 email: cweinman@hanleywood.com

Canada D. John Magner, york media services 500 Queens Quay W., Suite 101W, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3K8 phone: 416-598-0101, ext.220 fax: 416-598-9191 email: jmagner@hanleywood.com

Content Licensing for Every Marketing Strategy Marketing solutions fit for: Outdoor | Direct Mail | Print Advertising Tradeshow/POP Displays | Social Media | Radio & TV

Washington, D.C. Phil Hernandez, director of sales/ emerging accounts group email: phernandez@hanleywood.com Ken Wilson, account manager email: kwilson@hanleywood.com phone: 202-729-3531 Maura Jacob, account manager email: mjacob@hanleywood.com phone: 678-451-8627 Jaeda Mohr, account manager email: jmohr@hanleywood.com phone: 202.736.3453 1152 15th St. NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 202-452-0800 fax: 202-785-1974

Leverage branded content from Builder to create a more powerful and sophisticated statement about your product, service, or company in your next marketing campaign. Contact Wright’s Media to find out more about how we can customize your acknowledgements and recognitions to enhance your marketing strategies.

Call Wright’s Media at 877.652.5295, visit our website at wrightsmedia.com/sites/hanleywood or email us at hanleywood@wrightsmedia.com B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Real projects start with the industry standard Before starting the project, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture will ensure their design of a new condo tower, Una Residences, is protected with AIA contracts.

AIA Contract Documents used: B109-Owner/Architect Agreement for a Multi-Family Residential or Mixed Use Residential Project.

Learn more about the Una Residences project at aiacontracts.org/builder-una

Rendering ŠHayes Davidson

IT’S NOT A TREND. IT’S A REVOLUTION. Visit ZIPRevolution.com to learn how easy it is to make the switch.

© 2019 Huber Engineered Woods LLC. ZIP System, the accompanying ZIP System logo and design are trademarks of Huber Engineered Woods LLC. Huber Engineered Woods’ ZIP System® products are covered by various patents. Please see ZIPSystem.com/Patents for details. HUB 16509-1 03/19

HEALTHY HOMES ARE A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE Did you know your home can help enhance your health and well-being?

DARWIN monitors and regulates environmental conditions in the home—reducing air and water contaminants, and helping enhance sleep cycles, energy levels, and productivity every day.

DARWIN is the world’s first home wellness intelligence network. An affordable hardware and software solution designed for seamless integration into the production building process.

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FROM THE EDITOR

The Power of Trust

W

hen our team at builder does the job we set out to do, we challenge you and try to help you to be the best builder you can be. That may happen through our reporting and connection to ideas, education, motivation, data, or empowerment.

Today, though, no challenge. Just a thank you. We are simply, unreservedly, profoundly grateful to you for what you do.

Why say that now, today? Partly because we may not say it enough. But think for a moment about the news cycle of late: Distrust. Mistrust. Antitrust. Now, think about what you do, how you do it, who you do it for, and why.

To earn money doing what you do, you need to earn trust. Not just home buyers’ trust, but the trust of stakeholders, team members, suppliers, vendors, lenders, municipal staff, developers, and other human relationships critical to doing business. You’re in the trust-earning business, and, at this moment, that’s saying something. We salute you, builders, for the ability you have to earn the trust of another human, and another, and another. And what’s more, you sustain it and build on it.

That fact, and its importance to the immediate and longer-term future of building, is critical, especially as operating conditions get trickier, and challenge intensifies. Why? Start with this prescient observation by Le Corbusier: “A house is a machine for living in.”

The architect’s words, from the 1920s, live in the soul of almost every contemporary home. However, the assertion rings poignantly and urgently relevant at this particular moment.

20 B U I L D E R

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SEPTEMBER 2019

Almost a century since he wrote those words, the canny truth, implications, and power of their meaning is still becoming profoundly evident. A home is technology people use for shelter, safety, privacy, discretionary access to resources and nature, connection to other people, and the opportunity to flourish personally.

People’s flow and comfort zones within the interiors and their routines now populate boundless vaults of data.

Who owns that data? What can be done with it? These questions matter, especially now as the very meaning of safety, security, privacy, transparency, permission, discretionary access to essential resources, and connections to other people is undergoing exponential change because of the values personal data contain, how they get traded, and what they’re worth.

Minor blips, macro trends, headwinds, tailwinds, etc., we believe will continue to roil the business space, challenging market-rate, forprofit residential real estate and construction stakeholders like no time in recent memory.

A convergence, collision, or cross-current of three forces is at work: A cycle has reached its inflection point; structural differences are emerging in how people want to live in their homes and what they want to own; and safety, security, peace of mind, and a chance to flourish are the values people insist on in their homes.

Trust—earning it, sustaining it, integrating it into operational and enterprise behaviors—is material to success. People today find it harder to trust one another. They also find it harder to solve some of life’s challenges. Part of the good news is that people do see a cause-effect relationship between solving for some of those rough challenges and increasing the amount of trust they feel, according to a recent New York Times analysis on the topic.

The other part of the good news is that you and your partners mostly work, live, and stand up as real-world examples of how deeply powerful trust can be.

For this, we thank you.

John McManus Editorial Director, Residential Construction

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

ESSENTIAL COLLECTION

SIGNATURE COLLECTION ELEVATE COLLECTION

MANY POSSIBILITIES. ONE MARVIN. Marvin and Integrity products are now organized into three collections under one Marvin brand. Easier navigation makes selecting what you need for any project simple and efficient.

More complementary colors and styles across lines help bring your vision to life. It’s the same beautiful, high-quality window and door portfolio, reorganized to help you create anything you can imagine.

Discover the Marvin difference at marvin.com

©2019 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC. All rights reserved. ®Registered trademark of Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC.

Join thousands of industry professionals with one mission: improve the economic and environmental performance of the places we work and live by putting green ďŹ rst.

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B U I LT W I T H

NOVEMBER 19-22, 2019

TOP-QUALITY. ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY.

BEAVER-PREFERRED. The most experienced builders instinctively know a five-star backyard made from YellaWood® brand pressure treated pine can turn the next project into more referrals. As the most recognized name in the business, homeowners seek out contractors who use the YellaWood® brand. It’s preferred by expert builders of all kinds. Especially those with leather tails, buck teeth and nature’s highest building standards.

Follow your natural inclinations and seek out the Yella Tag. Find a dealer at YellaWood.com.

IF IT DOESN’T HAVE THIS YELLA TAG, YOU DON’T WANT IT.

YellaWood® brand pressure treated products are treated with preservatives (the “Preservatives”) and preservative methods, and technologies of unrelated third parties. For details regarding the Preservatives, methods, and technologies used by Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, see www.yellawood.com/preservative or write us at P.O. Box 610, Abbeville, AL 36310. Ask dealer for warranty details. For warranty or for important handling and other information concerning our products including the appropriate Safety Data Sheet (SDS), please visit us at www.yellawood.com/ warranties or write us at P.O. Box 610, Abbeville, AL 36310. YellaWood® and the yellow tag are federally registered trademarks of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are used with their permission.

PULSE

by BUILDER STAFF

Notable news, trends, and data from around the industry

How to Design a Solar-Ready Rooftop there are two main components to the netzero house energy equation. There’s conservation: The house needs to be designed and built to require minimal inputs of energy for heating, cooling, lighting, and plug loads. And there’s on-site power generation: No house uses zero power, so to reach net zero, the house has to generate some of its own juice using photovoltaics.

In practice, net-zero houses generate surplus energy during the summer, and they consume off-site power during winter and at night. A good balance requires thoughtful consideration of house siting, roof slope, roof orientation, and shading—the key factors that determine a home’s suitability for on-site power generation.

Roof Orientation Solar panels produce the most power when pointed at the sun, but since the sun moves, the typical solution is to split the difference. An ideal solar rooftop in the northern hemisphere will face south—solar south, not magnetic south.

The magnetic north pole isn’t at the Earth’s geographic north pole, so solar south is found using a correction factor to the compass reading.

Roof Slope The cheapest and simplest way to mount solar panels is on a rack in plane with the roof, where the panels’ angle to the sun is the same as the roof’s angle. The panels will be perpendicular to the sun’s rays—their highest-output condition— when the roof is. The highest solar output for the year will happen on the days when the sun is shining directly down on the panels.

In practice, solar orientation doesn’t have to be perfect, says Connecticut builder Nick Lehto, who specializes in net-zero construction. Given the constraints of home building, Lehto can’t always orient his roofs due south, or frame roofs

24 B U I L D E R

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SEPTEMBER 2019

to a solar-optimized pitch. Roof angles and house orientation are important, but “the lot is what the lot is,” he says. “Sometimes you have to accept that solar doesn’t make sense on a project.”

With the declining cost of solar panels, builders may try to make up for roof slope or orientation imperfections by adding more panels. “It makes the project more expensive because you’re trying to make up for lower efficiency by throwing more money at it, but it’s doable,” says Charlie Morgan of Eastern CT Solar in Connecticut.

The Shading Problem Morgan notes that shade on the roof can be an issue. “You don’t want any shading on the array, because that will reduce your production,” he says.

But advancing technology has reduced the shading penalty. Morgan explains that with the new generation of microinverters, each solar panel acts independently as opposed to the string inverters of the past, where whole strings of panels were wired together. So if one panel is in shade, “it’s only impacting that one solar panel,” he says. “That’s made a big difference in being able to mitigate for some shady situations.”

Build With Solar in Mind Morgan advises builders to be mindful of the roof’s structural capacity.

He notes that solar installers provide a structural review during the permitting process, which includes an official letter by an engineer saying that the roof can accommodate the additional loading of the solar. He also recommends eliminating obstructions on the south side of the roof and limiting skylights where you may install panels.

Foresight with regard to wiring connections also can be beneficial in the long run when adding solar, Morgan adds. “There is always going to be some ancillary equipment. ... If you put your electrical panel in a tiny little closet, that might make it tough.”—ted cushman

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Adobe Stock/Africa Studio

Work With The Site

House siting, roof orientation, roof slope, and shading all determine a home’s suitability for solar.

DEFEND YOUR BUILD COME HAIL OR HIGH WATER, FIRE OR HEAT ™

Our portfolio of structural solutions is engineered to proactively defend the jobsite and the home. Defend Your Build at LPCorp.com. ™

© 2019 Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. All rights reserved. Gorilla Glue and Gorilla Glue Technology are registered trademarks of Gorilla Glue, Inc. LP, LP Legacy, TechShield and FlameBlock are registered trademarks of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

Stop microbes at the door.

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PULSE

Builders Report Rising Input Costs in Survey

DEFEND AGAINST WATER AND WASTED TIME Introducing an innovative air and water barrier, the newest member of our portfolio of structural solutions. Defend jobsites and help deliver a continuous exterior barrier for a tight envelope and long-term home energy efficiency.

Defend Your Buildª LPCorp.com/WeatherLogic

the june 2019 homesphere/btig survey shows the highest reported building input cost increases since October 2018, with approximately half of builders saying that the prices of labor (48%), land (50%) and materials (42%) have risen year over year.

Out of 112 respondents across a broad spectrum of the housing industry, 40% reported year-over-year increases in sales in June, up from 39% in May, while 16% saw a decrease in year-over-year sales, down from 24% in May. Thirty-six percent of respondents noted their sales were better than expected, while 25% reported worse-than-expected sales.

The percentage of builders that reported offering entry-level and firsttime buyer focused homes has grown to its highest level in the history of the survey, at approximately 55%. Twenty-four percent of respondents had raised most or all of their base prices year over year, while 12% had cut some, most or all base prices. Both percentages are the highest so far this year.

As of the latest survey, approximately 70% of the survey’s builder respondents have a presence in the move-up or luxury market. According to BTIG, these results underscore increases in price dispersion, as well as the dichotomy of relative demand and pricing power for low- and high-cost homes.

To access the full report, visit homesphere.com.

Adobe Stock/FrankBoston

NO-SHOW DECK CLIPS National Nail has added Starter Clips to its CAMO deck fastening brand, which provide a face-fastening alternative for the first and last boards of grooved deck projects. They’re designed for use with the CAMO EdgeClip and EdgeXClip, as well as the CAMO DRIVE deck fastening tool and tool guide.

“Our customers love the elegant looks and fastener-free deck surfaces CAMO products help them achieve,” says Greg Palmer, director of marketing for National

Nail. “Now, CAMO EdgeClips and EdgeXClips have a compatible solution for the perimeter—the first and last boards—with our new Starter Clips.”

Each starter clip package contains 25 clips and 25 screws manufactured from 304 stainless steel, enough to cover 30 linear feet. To install, users line up the clip with the back edge of the joist and the center of the cross joist, fasten the clip at the cross joist, and then tilt and insert the deck board into the clip. camofasteners.com © 2019 Louisiana-Pacifi c Corporation. All rights reserved.

LP is a registered trademark of the Louisiana-Pacifi c Corporation.

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PULSE

DEFEND AGAINST FIRE WITH A SPARK OF GENIUS Defend your build against extreme flames so you can meet code, exceed expectations, and give homeowners peace of mind.

Defend Your Buildª LPCorp.com/FlameBlock

Adobe Stock/Tsiumpa

The Great Rate Cut of 2019 u.s. monetary policy has farreaching implications. After nine rate increases since December 2015, Federal Reserve officials recently cut rates for the first time since 2008.

The cut could lead to prolonged economic growth but could also occur just before a recession starts.

The Fed operates under what is called the “dual mandate.” Established

by Congress over 40 years ago, the Fed is responsible for maintaining maximum employment and price stability.

To reach these goals, the Fed can adjust short-term interest rates, known as the federal funds rate. When times are good, the Fed will opt to raise rates, and it will lower rates in a weaker economic environment. To put this in context, Meyers Research has reviewed the history of rates over the past 15 years.

Rate cuts are used to reignite an economy by encouraging lending and supporting consumer and business spending. Historically, enacting expansionary monetary policy in the U.S. has produced mixed results. In 1995 and 1998, small rate cuts did prolong the economic expansion. However, for 2001 and 2007, a recession was soon to follow. A rate cut does not necessarily mean the start of an easing cycle and will give the Fed time to see if it boosts economic activity. Below are three key impacts from a rate cut:

1 . Reverse a warning sign. A ‘reliable’ predictor of past recessions, the spread

between the 10-year bond vs. 3-month Treasury bill, inverted in May. The 3-month Treasury bill yield is closely tied to the federal funds rate and market forces drive the 10-year bond. A lower federal funds rate could push the spread back to positive territory.

2 . Mortgage rates could rise. Mortgage rates are closely tied to the 10year Treasury yield and the former has followed the latter down throughout 2019. As a result, the bond market essentially gave the home building industry four quarter-point rate cuts.

Counterintuitively, with lower shortterm rates, the 10-year yield could rise as investors are encouraged by future economic growth.

3 . Positive bump from equities. The stock market is not the economy, but the two can influence each other.

Stock investors anticipated a rate cut and likely view the move favorably. If the stock market keeps breaking records, the economy could hit its stride in a virtuous cycle for confidence.

A serious and often forgotten question is why can’t the economy operate with rates at historically low levels?

Rates are low enough to keep credit flowing, and the fact that today’s economy needs a boost is worrisome.

—ali wolf, director of economic research, meyers research © 2019 Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. All rights reserved. LP and FlameBlock are registered trademarks of the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

For four generations, QUIKRETE has delivered quality, consistency and performance in every bag.

From factory pre-blended concrete, mortar and stucco mixes to high-performance sealants and repair materials, QUIKRETE is your go-to resource for residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

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PULSE

Multifamily Amenities Get an Overhaul columns and working with the air ducts.

The space then had to be reprogrammed away from aquatic activities. “The client allowed us total creative control to produce the atmosphere we wanted for the sky lounge,” says Linowes.

Besides indoor pools, other relics of multifamily’s past are on the to-go list.

“I hear a lot about racquetball courts, which were popular back in the ’70s and ’80s, but people just aren’t using them,” says Amy Groff, senior vice president of industry operations at the NAA. “If your community had a racquetball court, it’s been converted to either a fitness center or a package center.”

Other modern-day amenity losers include laundry rooms and tennis courts.

People still want to be outside but would prefer to walk their dogs, grill, or play cornhole. Outdoor pools remain popular, especially in Class A properties, while artificial sun bathing has taken a big hit.

“I’ve seen amenity conversions with tanning rooms, which were big back in the day, and they have been converted into pet spas,” says Groff.

When asking what amenity is really important either as a conversion or new construction, the answer is the same.

“Everybody that tours your property is going to want to see that you have a fitness center even though only 10% of the people will actually use it,” says Groff. “It is the top of the line as a deal-breaker goes.”—scott sowers

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Ulf E. Wallin

New multifamily properties include everything from dog parks to crafting rooms, depending on the building’s demographics. According to the National Apartment Association (NAA), a fitness center is a must-have in today’s multifamily buildings. But what about older buildings constructed before the first shots of the amenity wars were fired?

Is there any hope that they will be able to hold the lines and retain their leases?

Washington, D.C.-based interior design firm Linowes Design Associates recently was hired by UDR to transform an indoor swimming pool on the top floor of Del Ray Tower in Alexandria, Va., as indoor pools have fallen out of favor. “Property owners seek to make every available square foot count toward usable and desired amenities.

Indoor pools are not getting as much use as they had years ago and can be a maintenance nightmare,” says Elyse Linowes, president of the firm.

The top floor location and surrounding views led the team to a logical replacement for the pool. “With its expansive views and floor-to-ceiling windows, it was easy for us to envision the space as a cool sky lounge,” says Linowes. “The lounge is also available to rent for private parties, which is a great way to monetize the space. It has been hugely successful.”

Replacing the pool at the Del Ray Tower turned into an engineering challenge for Linowes and her firm in terms of moving

DEFEND AGAINST HEAT AND HIGH BILLS

© 2019 Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. All rights reserved. LP and TechShield are registered trademarks of the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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DESIGN TRENDS

Go With the Flow Smart planning makes all the difference on a narrow lot, along with flexible spaces b y AU RO R A Z E L E D ON

W

e’ve all gotten used to super-open layouts as the new norm.

But sometimes a tight lot precludes that, or you may have clients who, having grown up with a more traditional floor plan, enjoy a bit of delineation in their living spaces. Either way, a layout that prioritizes great flow instead of merely combining rooms may be the right choice.

This farmhouse puts most of the rooms on the main floor, including the spacious master suite (owners will appreciate the counter space and storage in their private bathroom) and the flexible guest room (featuring a bathroom that also opens to the hallway for greater utility). The kitchen sports an island and overlooks the dining room.

Sliding doors allow this zone to open to a screened porch that provides protection as the weather starts to change or insects come out at night. In the great room, brick accent walls add rustic charm without closing off the space entirely.

Speaking of porches, the impressive wraparound one gives a neighborly vibe to the exterior of the home. And with the two-car garage tucked around back, it’s a great fit for a development that wants to retain traditional curb appeal. Other highlights tying this home to the needs of the present include lockers, walk-in closets, a huge laundry room, and generously sized secondary bedrooms.

See more plans for narrow lots at go.hw.net/BD0919-plans.

PLAN #1067-5 View and browse plans at builderhouseplans.com.

square footage 2,510

dimensions 42’6” x 83’8”

5-set $1,395

bedrooms 4

foundation Crawlspace, Slab

cad $2,045

bathrooms 3

36 B U I L D E R

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pdf $1,245

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

&

T H E

N E X T

G E N E R A T I O N

LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT

DON’T BE LEFT IN THE DARK

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CONGRATULATIONS TO HANLEY WOOD’S JESSE H. NEAL AWARD WINNERS

Hanley Wood is committed to publishing quality content that serves the information needs of construction industry professionals. Our editors have once again been honored by the most prestigious editorial awards program. Join us in congratulating them.

2019 WINNERS

2019 FINALISTS

ARCHITECT Best Use of Social Media

ARCHITECT AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE Best Single Article

MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE

dri ven by t he cr af t

It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert.

So what do 28,000 hours make you?

L I M I T E D

At Pella, our wood craftsmen have been on the job for an average of 14 years — or more than 28,000 hours. And throughout their tenure, they’ve created stunning designs and groundbreaking innovations backed by some of the industry’s best warranties. So you can spend less time focused on product

Pella wood craftsmen stand behind you with the best limited lifetime warranty for wood windows and patio doors.1

quality and more time focused on your craft.

1

Based on comparing written limited warranties of leading national wood window and wood patio door brands. See Pella written Limited Warranty for details, including exceptions and limitations, at pella.com/warranty, or contact Pella Customer

2

Performance solutions offering an unbeatable combination of energy efficiency, sound control and value require upgrades to triple-pane, AdvancedComfort Low-E and mixed glass thickness. Based on comparing product quotes and published

Service at 877-473-5527.

STC/OITC and U-Factor ratings of leading national wood window and patio door brands.

3

Performance solutions require upgrades to triple-pane and AdvancedComfort Low-E. Window energy efficiency calculated in a computer simulation using RESFEN 6.0 default parameters for a 2,000-square-foot new construction single-story home when comparing Pella Lifestyle Series windows to a single-pane wood or vinyl window. Double-hung windows are not available with triple-pane glass. The energy efficiency and actual savings will vary by location. The average window energy efficiency is based on a national average of 94 modeled cities across the country with weighting based on population. For more details, see pella.com/methodology.

4

Performance solutions require upgrades to triple-pane and mixed glass thickness. Reduction in sound based on OITC ratings of Pella Lifestyle Series windows to a single-pane wood or vinyl window with an OITC of 19. Double-hung windows are not available with triple-pane glass. Calculated by using the sound transmission loss values in the 80 to 4000 Hz range as measured in accordance with ASTM E-90(09). Actual results may vary.

© 2019 Pella Corporation

#1 performing wood window and patio door for the combination of energy, sound and value.

2

Pella craftsmen are proud to offer the beauty and durability of wood combined with style flexibility, enhanced performance options and purposeful innovations to deliver solutions for real life. With the new Pella Lifestyle Series, you can provide homeowners with an unbeatable combination of sound performance, energy efficiency and value.2

Unrivaled performance options.

Pella wood craftsmen created windows that redefine performance with options that are 79% more energyefficient3 and reduce 52% more sound4 than single-pane windows for a more comfortable home. So you can offer features worthy of premium lines — all at an affordable price.

Packed with innovation.

Pella Lifestyle Series includes 37 time-tested innovations, like integrated blinds and shades and built-in security sensors, all in one line. So it’s easy for you to install customized products while maintaining the warranty — and easy for customers to purchase with confidence.

You’re driven by your craft. And so are we.

See how we lend our expertise to your team at pella.com/driven.

Proud to support #KeepCraftAlive®.

PRODUCTS

MODERN FORMS

The Fathom LED Indoor/Outdoor Wall Sconce is designed to evoke the depths of the ocean, with a heavily textured, hard-cast glass ocean wave design laid into a black hardware box. The glass feature is lighted by LEDs at the top and bottom of the full fixture. The sconce does not require a transformer or driver, and is compatible with an ELV (electronic low voltage) dimmer.

It has a high 90 CRI (color rating index), and its LEDs have rated life of 50,000 hours. modernforms.com

Design and Control Recent product releases in lighting showcase features ranging from dimmability to smart home connectivity b y M A RY S A L MON S E N

FEDERAL BRACE

The Eco-Lucent LED Lighting System is designed as a complete hardwire solution for LED accents across the home, including undercounter, undercabinet, and kitchen, bath, and office accent lighting. Each light bar is installed in extruded aluminum housing and a frosted cover, and provides 116 lumens of output at a warm white 3000K color temperature. Each bar comes assembled and ready for installation, with mounting clips included. federalbrace.com

â—„ HARDWARE RESOURCES

The Task Power Angled Power Strip and Lighted Power Strip are designed to provide power outlets in fixed out-of-sight locations, including under cabinets or countertops.

All are available in a variety of finishes, lengths, and configurations of power outlets, including USB ports on some models. The Lighted Power Strips are available with either an internal or external power supply, and in color temperatures ranging from 2700K to 5000K. Each one includes mounting hardware required for installation. hardwareresources.com

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SONNEMAN

The Calla wall sconce provides a soft LED glow filtered through two translucent, petal-like shades, inspired by the look and shape of calla lilies. According to the manufacturer, Calla is designed to add an organic element to the harsh lines of modern interior design. The light is available in a satin white or satin black finish, and measures 19.25 inches high by 5.5 inches wide, with its lower stalk extending 6.5 inches from its mount. It is rated for use in damp locations. sonnemanawayoflight.com

LET’S PUT MORE TIME AND MONEY IN YOUR TOOLBOX

Glacier Bay Woodbrook Bath Vanity in White Washed Oak

You put a lot into your projects. That’s why we make sure Pros like you get more out of the Pro Xtra program, including exclusive benefits like purchase tracking, volume pricing and special offers.

It’s easy to join. Just visit your local Pro Desk today, or register online at HomeDepot.com/ProXtra.

PRODUCTS

WAC LIGHTING

The newest addition to the dweLED collection is the Corso LED ceiling mount, which consists of a ring-shaped metal shade lit from the inside by a halo of LED luminaries behind a frosted acrylic diffuser cover.

The Corso’s LEDs deliver up to 728 lumens in an even illumination spread, powered by a 120V-220V-277V universal driver. It is Title 24 rated, and dimmable with an ELV or 0-10V dimmer. The fixture is available in 18- and 23-inch models, with a brushed aluminum finish. waclighting.com

LUTRON

STICKBULB

The RAY Sconce Collection includes minimalist wood-clad wall fixtures that consist of a single strip of light on a single strip of wood. The fixture’s hardware component allows for it to be installed horizontally or vertically, with the lighted section facing in any direction, including against the wall. The wood components are available in sustainably sourced maple, walnut and ebonized oak, as well as reclaimed heart pine and water tower redwood. stickbulb.com

44 B U I L D E R

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The Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer is a wireless, battery-powered local control knob for Signify’s Phillips Hue smart lighting system.

The dimmer mounting base “locks” the existing switch in the on/up position, and the round knob dimmer snaps over the base.

This prevents the toggle switch from being accidentally turned off, which would disable Phillips Hue control from any smart control system. The dimmer works with the Phillips Hue control system via Zigbee technology, which will remain operational even in Wi-Fi outages. lutron.com

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Clean, Simple, Modern, Matching Elegance Better Home Products can elevate your next project from a mere show home, to a virtual showplace. Our complete collection of locksets and bath accessories with matching designs and finishes provide the elegant decorative touch needed to enhance any décor.

HILLSBOROUGH RETANGULAR BACKPLATE PROGRAM WITH TIBURON TOWEL BAR

HILLSBOROUGH COLLECTION Many lever shapes to choose from!

HILLSBOROUGH DEADBOLT PASSAGE WITH SANTA CRUZ LEVER

TOWEL BAR

HILLSBOROUGH PASSAGE WITH SAN FRANCISCO LEVER

PAPER HOLDER

HILLSBOROUGH PRIVACY WITH TIBURON LEVER

TOWEL RING

DOLORES PARK HANDLESET

HILLSBOROUGH DUMMY WITH PACIFICA LEVER

ROBE HOOK

Available Finishes:

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Chrome

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Satin Nickel

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Dark Bronze

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Matte Black

Available builder programs—including our ‘Branded House Partnership’ program—will fulfill the needs of builders both large and small. Visit www.betterhomeproducts.com and click on the ‘Builder Programs’ tab for more details.

Matching Design and Finish Locksets and Bath Accessories GREAT FILL RATE • EXCELLENT QUALITY • SAME DAY SHIPPING FOR FAST DEALER DELIVERIES!

www.betterhomeproducts.com

We’ve gone to great depths to test the unflinching strength of LP Legacy® premium sub-flooring. We’re so sure of our product’s stiffness and moisture resistance, we’ve backed it with an exclusive Covered Until It’s Covered® no-sand warranty.* *See www.lpcorp.com for complete warranty details.

Catch the behind-the-scenes action at TestedExtreme.com

© 2019 Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. All rights reserved. Gorilla Glue Technology, Gorilla Glue and associated logo are registered trademarks of the Gorilla Glue Company. All other trademarks are of or owned by Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

Delivered daily to home building pros, BUILDER PULSE is a must-read newsletter that combines original content and analysis with breaking industry news.

Sign up for all of BUILDER’s newsletters at builderonline.com

CABLE RAILING | INSTALL MORE. FEAR LESS. Growth in the cable railing sector continues to outpace other types of railing.

Customers want it, but fear it’s difficult to install, expensive, and can be dangerous to small children. Enter Fortress Railing Products with our innovative solution. With both our H-Series and our V-Series, not only is it affordable but anyone can install it.

Fortress Cable Railing is simplified, panelized and durable. Both the H-Series and V-Series offer modern styling with welded construction and stainless-steel cable components. Common steel brackets and posts allow full compatibility with our top selling Fe26 Railing. And what’s most important is that households with small children can still enjoy cable rail views with our V-series line without the worry of climbability.

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SIMPLE. AFFORDABLE. DURABLE. SAFE.

CONSTRUCTION

Built to Last Deltec’s prefabricated panoramic homes are designed to work with nature’s unpredictability b y S Y MO N E G A RV E T T

P

50 B U I L D E R

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BUILDER: How did the firm get its start?

Linton: The company that would eventually evolve into Deltec Homes began as a home insulation company founded by Clyde Kinser in 1955. He and his son, Wayne, realized that to keep growing, they needed someone with technical expertise to help engineer new products. They asked Robert, Wayne’s brother who had a degree in mechanical engineering, to come work with them, and he accepted. The brothers began to reshape the company, and the journey truly began in 1968, when Wayne and Robert began to offer what at the time was a small side service— building panoramic homes. The principles that Robert and Wayne built Deltec on still shape our values and perspectives to this day.

Linton: Our flagship design is a panoramic home, shaped to offer incredible views, built to be resilient to hurricanes, and designed to provide exceptional energy efficiency. We build legacy homes, designed to connect homeowners with the people and world around them. Our homes are commitments to future generations of people and are intentionally crafted to create a positive impact on both Deltec homeowners and our planet.

BUILDER: How are the homes hurricane resistant? What features make the structure more durable against strong winds?

Linton: Deltec’s resiliency comes from the house working together as a system. A Deltec home is stronger in high winds and seismic areas for two reasons: a panoramic home has

BUILDER: What types of homes do you produce? How does the shape and construction differ from regular stick-built homes?

less pressure on it because of its shape, and Deltec’s engineering and construction techniques enhance the home’s strength.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Courtesy Deltec Homes

eak hurricane season began in mid-August and continues through late October. While it may be impossible to build a structure that is 100% hurricane proof, coastal builders are trying to find solutions to building sound homes that could stand up against these detrimental storms.

Asheville, N.C.–based Deltec Homes specializes in prefabricated round-home construction. According to the company, the home’s shape, along with its quality of materials and engineering, allow the structure to be hurricane resistant. Since the firm’s founding in 1968, several Deltec homes have survived direct hits from hurricanes Maria, Irma, Harvey, Sandy, Katrina, Hugo, Ivan, and Charley.

BUILDER recently spoke with Steve Linton, president of Deltec Homes, about the company’s history and how its signature panoramic home design is built to withstand strong winds.

BUILD WITH

Because your reputation is your business You take pride in doing your best work on every job. That’s why the materials you use matter. DuPont™ Tyvek® has proudly been the industry leader in performance since it invented the house wrap category more than 40 years ago.

Find your total building envelope solution at tyvek.dupont.com DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with TM , SM or ® are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. © 2019 DuPont.

CONSTRUCTION

BUILDER: How many floor plans do you

BUILDER: What areas have you improved

offer, and how much do they typically cost?

since the company’s 1968 founding?

Linton: Each of the panoramic homes we

Linton: Innovation is one of our core values.

build are different, but they’re all based on 21

We have made many advances over the past

basic building blocks. There are over 1.8 mil-

50 years, both in the product itself and in

lion possible combinations to how you can

the process by which we build. Some exam-

mix and match different Deltec structures.

ples that come to mind:

Our design team typically suggests several plan ideas from our library, or customers may

•

opt to design a home from scratch.

facility’s roof, every Deltec home is prefab-

The upfront cost of a Deltec home is more than a traditionally built home because of the

ricated using 100% renewable energy.

•

materials used. However, the total cost of ownership of a Deltec home is where buyers come

With 273 solar panels on our production

We divert an average of 80% of construction waste away from landfills.

•

Our Energy Wall system and our Double

out on top. Through reduced utility bills and

Stud Walls use AirBlock gaskets between

maintenance costs, not to mention the savings

the framing and the sheathing, allowing

of not having to rebuild after a storm, investing in a Deltec home leads to lower costs over time. A 2,000-square-foot Deltec home may range from $400,000 to $600,000, depending on the location and features selected.

our homes to be exceptionally airtight.

•

One of our models has temperature and moisture sensors embedded throughout, allowing us to monitor its performance and innovate the next generation of homes.

BUILDER: What advice do you have for other builders who are constructing homes in hurricane-prone areas?

Linton: Beyond the hardware that can be added to a standard home design, builders should be considering other design elements that can enhance the strength of a home: the shape, exposure, material strength, and livability after the storm. Deltec is an expert in these areas, and we partner with builders across the U.S. to design homes that perform in the most extreme environments.

We have this vision that homes should be designed to work with nature, not against it.

Our ancestors understood the land on which they lived. They understood the direction of the prevailing winds and how to design houses to use these for passive cooling. On a larger scale, we have completely lost this connection to the land, and natural disasters highlight this fact. B

STRENGTH IN SHAPE In a Deltec home, the pressure pushing on the exterior of the home is about 30% less than a traditional home because of the circular shape, according to the company. A circular home also has great aerodynamics, allowing the wind to flow around the home rather than build up pressure on any one side. The firm also focuses on the sustainability of a home after a severe weather event; by choosing strategies that promote livability after the storm (i.e., passive heating and cooling), Deltec promotes long-term building durability. Deltec president Steve Linton outlines three key components that contribute to the resiliency of his company’s homes: 1. Material Excellence

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2. Connections Deltec emphasizes high-strength connections at critical failure points. For example, the hurricane ties used in Deltec’s designs are three times as strong as those used in conventional hurricane construction, according to the company.

3. Precision Engineering Process Deltec designs the house as a system. For example, the radial floor trusses connect every wall of the home through a central hub, allowing any force applied to one side of the home to be effectively resisted by the entire home, not just one section.

“This redundancy provides exceptional safety and ultimately means that our homeowners will not need to rebuild after major storms,” Linton says.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Courtesy Deltec Homes

Five-ply, ⅝-inch plywood that is twice as strong as 7⁄16-inch OSB and specially graded (“diamond grade”) MSR lumber is used in all structural components, according to Linton. Each board is acoustically tested to ensure it meets the strength requirements of the design.

Deltec’s panelized process allows for greater quality control and implementation of all enhanced strength

techniques, and stainless fasteners are used in all exterior applications.

BUILD UPON A NEW ERA of EXCEPTIONAL Elevate any contemporary culinary space with the all-new Thermador Pro Ranges crafted with unmatched innovation, personalization and versatility in mind. Choose from 30”, 36”, 48” and 60” configurations to find the range most complementary to your next design.

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BUILDER INTEL

THE $40-MILLION SECRET REVOLUTIONIZING ARIZONA HOME SELLING This family-owned home builder uses an innovative strategy to multiply revenue.

Dennis Webb has a $40 million secret to share.

Webb, VP of Operations at Fulton Homes, can’t wait to give away a strategy his company uses as the largest private builder in the Arizona market.

The reason for Webb’s generosity?

“The home building industry needs a change, drastic and quick. We can do better as an industry. We want to help,” he explains.

Thirteen years ago, Fulton Homes reinvented a central aspect of the home buying process: option selection. “We don’t look at option selection like most home builders. We take the customer’s viewpoint, not a product viewpoint,” Webb says.

Fulton’s strategy centers around the Fulton Homes Design Center. A typical Design Center is around 2,500 square feet. Fulton Homes? Try 13,000 square feet. A home buyer shopping kitchens, for example, will explore nine full kitchen vignettes.

That’s just the beginning. The Fulton Homes retail selling strategy nets the Arizona home builder an extra $50,000 in sales per home on average, says Webb. Other strategy features include: 1. Trust the Customer. “Be transparent. Customers will reward you for it. Who would you buy a house from? Someone who openly reveals a price or someone who doesn’t? We do $40 million a year in purchasing options by being completely open with the customer,” Webb says. Fulton Homes is the only builder that will provide digital pricing to the home buyer prior to signing a contract on a new home.

2. What Would Nordstrom’s Do? Webb had a 25-year retail career before joining Fulton Homes. He’s not the only one in the company with a retail background, including most of the Fulton leadership. That customer centric focus informs every aspect of the organization.

3. What Would Amazon Do? Webb believes most builders undervalue their website, reducing it to an “online brochure” in his words. Fulton Homes knows its home buyers carefully research their purchase online. “Our customers want a ton of information,” says Webb.

“Presenting that level of detail isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Our customers spend on average nearly seven hours with our online system before visiting the Design Center.”

4. Browse Night. Every other Thursday evening, Fulton Homes opens the doors to its mega Design Center in Tempe, Arizona to everyone, Fulton Homes buyer or not. “It’s invaluable. We get 60–90 active or potential home buyers. I go to every Browse Night. I wouldn’t miss them for the world,” Webb says.

5. Everyone Sells. Everyone.

6. Trusted Partner. Webb singles out Interior Logic Group (ILG), the national leader in interior finish solutions for home builders and outsourced Design Center services. “We’re partners with them in the Design Center.

The center generates $40 million a year with just six designers and a manager. ILG is by far our largest vendor. They’re more important to us than our framers,” reports Webb.

Is Webb worried about giving away trade secrets? Not at all.

“Even if our competitors use our strategy, which they should, we’re going to be on to something else,” he says.

To learn more about Interior Logic’s Builder Services like Design Centers and proprietary technology, visit https://interiorlogicgroup.com/builderservices/.

Produced by Hanley Wood Strategic Marketing Services Group

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BUILDER INTEL

WEATHERING THE STORM: BE PREPARED OSB panels help homes stand up to high winds and seismic activity.

From hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to twisters in “Tornado Alley” and earthquakes in the West and Alaska, much of the United States experiences the violent forces of high winds and seismic activity.

The devastation can be jawdropping. But builders can take a few simple steps when framing their homes to help them weather the storm.

Choose the right products. Install them correctly. Be prepared.

PRODUCT SELECTION

Performance, easy installation, and cost-effectiveness make Oriented Strand Board (OSB) an ideal choice for roof decking, wall sheathing and sub-floors in areas prone to high winds and seismic activity.

OSB is strong, durable, and absorbs stresses and impacts without weakening or degrading. Excellent dimensional stability and surface uniformity prevent deflection, de-lamination, warping, racking, and shape distortion.

Structural I-rated OSB panels, such as StructWall panels from RoyOMartin, are engineered for earthquake zones. Designed to minimize racking and provide added strength, they flex and absorb shock, reducing shifting and breakage.

In high-wind areas, oversize OSB wall sheathing panels, such as WindBrace panels from RoyOMartin, enable builders to tie the top plate to the bottom plate with a single sill-to-plate structural panel, increasing wall strength and eliminating the need for wall uplift hardware, blocking, and filler strips.

CORRECT INSTALLATION

Proper installation is essential. For a home to be resilient, it must transfer lateral loads—wind or seismic activity acting horizontally on the structure, or racking caused by seismic activity—to the foundation. This requires the shear wall and the roof and floor diaphragms to be properly fastened to the framing, tied together and tied to the foundation.

In areas prone to hurricanes and high winds, loss of roofing materials and sheathing is a primary concern. Building codes regarding the type, number, and spacing of fasteners must be followed.

Installing wall sheathing vertically helps keep sheathing and siding in place when the wind blows.

Bardwell Homes, based in Baton Rouge, La., uses WindBrace XL extended length OSB panels, enabling crews to tie the top plate to the bottom plate with a single panel. “The panel is literally locked in,” says Michael Phung, vice president of construction and development at Bardwell Homes. “The nail patterns also are more accurate.”

In earthquake zones, the focus is on keeping a home firmly on its foundation. Structural I-rated wall sheathing, such as StructWall panels, provide the required strength and flexibility and can be installed horizontally or vertically. Panels must then be anchored according to code at both the sill plate and where the panel meets the second story or roof deck.

JOBSITE PREPARATION

Builders in hurricane-prone areas have several days’ notice of a storm’s arrival. Phung outlines basic best practices for battening down the hatches. ⚫ Communicate with the crew and subcontractors before and after the storm. ⚫ Secure items that could blow away. (A drywalled garage with OSB panels nailed to the door frame works well). ⚫ Contact the appropriate authorities to ensure access to the job site after the storm.

Mother Nature can unleash great fury. But with the right products, proper installation and some organization, builders can help their homes weather the storm.

To learn more about OSB Panels for storm and wind resistance, visit www.royomartin.com/products/ Produced by Hanley Wood Strategic Marketing Services Group

2019 Home Builders Blitz

thank you To the 2019 national sponsors who were vital to the success of Habitat for Humanity’s Home Builders Blitz: Your support helped Habitat homeowners across the United States build strength, stability and self-reliance.

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habitat.org/homebuildersblitz • #HomeBuildersBlitz

A special thanks to all the builders and contractors who worked with Habitat for Humanity in more than 30 states to build, renovate or repair more than 230 homes in 2019. *This list is not all-inclusive; it contains only the names of participating builders that were provided by local Habitat for Humanity offices at the time of our request.

A&J Electric Inc. Ace Hardware — Forest Grove, Oregon Affordable Self Storage AGH Homes, Inc. Allegrone Companies Altman Glenewinkel Construction LLC American WeatherTechs LLC Ander K Jackson Construction Anderson Knight Architects Atchison Construction Blue Sky Contractors Bluestone Building LLC Bluestone Custom Builders — Snider Construction Company Broers of Alpena BuildSense Callaway Homes Calmes & Rohm Construction LLC Carpet One CB Jeni Lifestyle Homes Centre Living Homes Charlotte Mechanical Clark Construction Co. — Alpena, Michigan Clark Construction Co. — Los Angeles, California Classic Cabinetry Coastal Cypress Building Company Coastal Property Group of Florida Compass Home Builders Concrete Supply Crossland Construction Daryl Folkerts DeVere Construction Inc.

Drake Homes Dream Finders Homes Durham Building Company Electrical Accents EverDream Builders LLC FAmos Construction/ Empire Development Five Star Builders Inc. Flint Hills Area Builders Association Florida Premier Contractors Frey Construction Frontier Construction Gilbane Building Company Griffith Lumber Company Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham Harbor Home Builders Harris Doyle Homes Inc. Hartje Lumber Hasheider Roofing & Siding Hawkins-Welwood Homes HGR Construction Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod Horizon Homes Howe Drywall H.R. Horton — America’s Builder Huber Engineered Woods Hunter Quinn Homes Jack Jennings & Sons Jamie’s Carpet Jeske Electric JM Cope J. Wright Building Company Kearney Construction Kerry Vanderzanden, Architect

K Hovnanian Homes Kiewit Building Group Inc. Konza Closets Lakeside Interior Contractors L&L Construction Legacy Roofing LLC Lenny’s Heating & A/C Logan Homes Lorain County JVS Lowell Regehr L.P. Adams Co. Lund-Ross Contractors Macadam Floor and Design Manhattan Area Technical College Mareno Construction LLC Matt Byrd Homes Matthew Johns Construction MCL - Meyers Carlisle Leapley Construction Meridian Contracting Services LLC Michael S. Hundley Construction Midwest Concrete Materials Inc. Murphy Home Builders LLC NC Thomas Home Repair Inc. Normandy Homes Oak City Contracting LLC Pariseau Heating & Cooling Park Square Homes Parker Concrete Parr Lumber PCL Construction Services Inc. Pepper Construction Perfect Environmental Performance LLC Portage Lumber Do It Best Center Pratt Home Builders Pulte Homes

RAM Electric Ray Zobel & Sons Inc. Reedsburg Flooring Center Ridge Stone Builders and Developers Ridgestone Construction LLC Sims-Lohman Kitchen and Bath Southgate Homes Stack Heating and Air Conditioning Stevens Fine Homes Stimson Lumber Co. Tatro Flooring Taylor Burton Company The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Timber Innovations Timm Construction Co. Inc. Tom’s Home Improvements Inc. Top Tier Plumbing Trophy Signature Homes Truex Preferred Construction Turner Construction Company — Los Angeles, California Turner Construction Company — Omaha, Nebraska Vanatage Design and Construction VanDyke Appliance Walker & Company Weddle and Sons Inc. Welhouse Construction White Engineering Wildcat Guttering Williams Fuel & Landscape Supply Winsupply North Adams Wolgast Corporation Zeitler Plumbing & Heating 19-68308/PDF/CT/08-2019

BUSINESS

“It’s imperative that model homes, given the investment, allow consumers to adequately experience the architectural space of the home.

Builders aren’t selling furniture, they are selling space,” she says. “Create a welcoming interior that asks them to stay, not overwhelms them into leaving.”

On the other hand, some builders choose to stage their model homes with lightly decorated “vignettes.” This could mean that only a few of the room’s homes are decorated, or that finishing touches like window treatments and artwork are left out. While cheaper, that incomplete experience can leave buyers feeling dissatisfied.

“Having worked on the builder side as well as for design firms, I can tell you the evidence is overwhelming: buyers simply cannot visualize without help,” Duhamel says. “For the small amount of savings a builder recognizes in a vignette, there is a much larger payoff by fully merchandising a model.”

Model Merchandising How builders can save resources, money, and time by mindfully crafting their customer experience b y M A RY S A L MON S E N

I

1. Don’t over- or under-decorate.

Dawn Duhamel, director of sales and marketing at Possibilities for Design in Denver, says too much merchandise in a home can make a space feel chaotic and can clash with an increasing societal need to disconnect and reduce clutter.

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3. Curate your product assortment.

Over time, certain products or lines may be discontinued or fall out of fashion. Keeping them on display may take up space that could be used by a different product, mislead buyers if the product is no longer available, or lead to an unnecessary quantity of choice.

To keep inventory current, Jane Meagher, president of Success Strategies, recommends forming a structured program around merchandise management. The program should be proactive rather than reactive, evaluate the

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Adobe Stock/WavebreakmediaMicro

n the model home and design center process, waste can take many forms. It could mean overdecorating a model, stocking or staging an outdated or undesirable product, or offering an overwhelming number of choices.

But in a space where sales depend on customer impressions, time is also vulnerable to waste. If your sales and product strategies are not streamlined around the customer experience, decisions that may seem like cost-saving strategies, like under-merchandising a model home, may backfire if they hurt that experience. We’ve asked designers and sales and marketing professionals—some representing builders, and others from independent design centers and consultancies—to share their experiences and key takeaways on streamlining the model and showroom processes:

2. Don’t include features that are not available to customers.

Duhamel recalls that it used to be common for model home designers to include millwork, specialty tile, and finish details that were not offered to the consumer. However, today’s home buyers are better educated on the home purchase and design process, she says. They often research the builder and available products before they visit, and usually expect to see exactly what’s included for the home’s listed price, as well as options and upgrades.

“In the past we may have been able to customdesign a bookcase in a study,” Duhamel says, “whereas now we work with the cabinet manufacturer to design something that can be easily replicated and offered to the customer.”

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BUSINESS

A-GAME BUILDER SPOTLIGHT

JAKE BRUTON merchandise on a schedule, and take input from across departments.

“The national brand’s supplier representatives can be a good source of information,” Meagher says. “Historical sales data can be a good source of information. But those are just components. ... We have to be the experts for our consumers to trust, and put products in front of them before they have to wonder why we don’t have them.”

4. Vary finishes for inspiration.

A mistake in communities with more than one model home, says Duhamel, is the use of similar interior finishes among models. She sees multiple spaces as an opportunity to showcase the choices that customers have.

“Today’s shoppers are eager to see ideas and want to be inspired by the choices they see in models,” says Duhamel. “If a builder is investing in models, it’s important to be able to leverage them as on-site design studios.”

If there’s just one model, builders can vary finishes from room to room. Meagher advises displaying a “variety of styles and/or finishes, while staying appropriate to the design integrity of the model home, to draw the customer’s attention to the opportunity to personalize.”

5. Consider your demographic.

Depending on who your potential buyers are, certain features may make or break the model home or showroom experience.

Marnèe Duffus, regional manager at BuildersDesign, recommends working with a model home merchandising company to pinpoint trends. “Finding a partner who will do research on your buyer demographic and curate the home to their liking is the best way to ensure your model home will be your strongest sales tool,” she says.

Geographic location can be a strong indication of which products will resonate, but Meagher notes these barriers of difference have broken down as buyers have gained more access to style information.

“These days everybody has access to Pinterest, everybody watches ‘Love It or List It’ or ‘Property Brothers’ or any of those,” she says.

“We are hyper-exposed to top design styles, and trends move quicker today than ever before. So the geographic lines are blurring a bit.

Not that they’re gone, they’re just not as profound as they were.”

Age is another consideration. “Design is totally subjective,” Duffus says. “What millennials think is a great use of space may not be what baby boomers find appropriate.”

6. Follow a set plan for each customer.

Whitney Harvey, vice president of sales and marketing at Magnolia Homes in Germantown, Tenn., suggests creating a plan for each visitor. “For a new build, we send out a welcome e-mail with an agenda to be reviewed prior,” she says, “and this has significantly helped prep our buyers.”

Meagher recommends a preview visit for clients ahead of the larger appointment. “A big way to eliminate inefficiencies in the design studio world is to better prepare the customers,” she says. “I don’t generally recommend having buyers come in for the first time and make final decisions within a few hours on the same day. Most buyers need time to explore, evaluate, and be ready to make lasting decisions.”

7. Cultivate a connection with customers.

While digital tools like virtual tours and product catalogs have become an important part of the model home and sales process, none of the experts interviewed believe a virtual experience can replace a physical model or design center experience, even in part.

“Virtual tours and online products are effective for guidance toward a style and or how to best use a space and or detail of product,” says Karen H. Shelly, design manager at HHHunt Homes. “The physical sample is the most effective when it comes to the color, touch, and feel of a product.”

Model home and design center experiences provide an opportunity for customers to cultivate a connection with the builder. “The digital selections experience is important, but I believe it should be paired with, not used instead of, a top-notch design studio,” Meagher says. “I think people need to see and touch, to ask all kinds of questions, and to be treated like VIPs. And that’s not an experience they’re going to get without that human connection, without physically touching the products and seeing what they look like.” B

“We want people to see what’s possible and take craftsmanship seriously.

A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Proven on the jobsite for over 20 years, AdvanTech® products let you bring your best to every jobsite, every time. We are proud to be able to share stories of innovation and integrity from the lives of influential A-game builders such as Jake Bruton.

Visit AdvanTechAGame.com to watch the first episode in the series.

© 2019 Huber Engineered Woods LLC. AdvanTech is a registered trademark of Huber Engineered Woods LLC. Huber is a registered trademark of J.M. Huber Corporation. HUB 21193-1 06/19

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Class is in Session

LIVE ONLINE: CONVENIENT LEARNING FOR BUSY PROFESSIONALS

This fall is the perfect time to try NAHB’s live, webinar-based courses which can take place in your office or home and requires only two hours a session over three consecutive weeks.

Check out these two dynamic live online courses:

Social Media Marketing for Your Business (October 1, 8, 15) Social media guru, Carol L. Morgan will help you think strategically about social media and how it fits into your company’s “big picture.”

Financial Management (November 5, 12, 19) Veteran expert Bill Asdal, will show you how to improve productivity and increase profits by applying essential financial management techniques used in successful businesses.

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2019

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Symone Garvett, Edward Keegan,

Mary Salmonsen, and Vincent Salandro

sixteen projects earned accolades from our panel of judges for this year’s Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Awards program, representing some of the best residential design work being constructed today.

Overall, the jurors—J. Carson Looney of Memphis, Tenn.– based Looney Ricks Kiss, Michael Hennessey of San Francisco–based Michael Hennessey Architecture, and Jonathan Tate of New Orleans–based Office of Jonathan Tate—praised function in smaller footprints, use of innovative building materials, and remodels that respect the existing architecture. From production homes to interior renovations to meticulously crafted custom abodes, there is no shortage of inspiration on the following pages for you to reimagine for your own projects.

2O19 BUILDER’S CHOICE AWARDS & CUSTOM HOME DESIGN

For more photos of the winning projects, visit

BUILDERONLINE.COM

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PROJECT OF THE YEAR SUGAR SHACK RESIDENCE

Casey Dunn

THE JURORS J. CARSON LOONEY

MICHAEL HENNESSEY

JONA THA N T ATE

P ri n ci pa l

Principal

Prin cip al

L oo n ey Ri c ks K is s

Michael Hennessey Architecture

Offi ce o f J ona th an Tate (OJ T)

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B U I L D E R 67

PROJECT OF THE YEAR ARCHITECT

Alterstudio Architecture SIZE

3,570 square feet COST

$290 per square foot

Casey Dunn

CUSTOM HOME: 5,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS

situated between a dramatic ravine and soaring oak trees in Austin, Texas, the Sugar Shack Residence by local firm Alterstudio Architecture takes advantage of its half-acre site by sitting along a natural slope condition.

The 3,570-square-foot linear home eventually bends slightly to accommodate the landscape and the trees present on the property.

“It’s a fairly traditional street with a series of houses set back from the road,” says Kevin Alter, partner at Alterstudio.

“We set the building long into the lot, opposed to creating a backyard and a front yard, to get a building that was oneroom wide effectively, where one side looks into this private courtyard and the other side looks into the treetops.”

Due to the home’s linear siting and the property’s sloping front yard, the design team added a carport, with a built-in car lift, underneath the main front volume. This gives the home a hovering illusion, says Alter, while providing cover and shade for the owners’ vehicles.

Sugar Shack Residence B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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B U I L D E R 69

“It’s artful, but it also felt rich w ith its quality of m aterials. W H IL E I T’S M O D E R N, I T’S V E R Y L I VA B L E, B O T H I N T E R I O R A N D E X T E R I O R. It’s not just another box on a box.” —JUROR J. CARSON LOONEY

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B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Casey Dunn

From the carport, residents can enter the home through the “back” exterior door, situated at the top of a stairway walled in with glass and white powder-coated steel slats.

An office and bedroom occupy the front portion of the home, while two additional bedrooms and the master suite are located at the back end of the structure. Visiting guests can also enter the home from the main entryway, located off the living area.

The combined kitchen, living, and dining space is situated at the bend in the home. To give the area a pop of color and illustrate the inflection point of the minor turn, the dining nook was cladded in blue velvet and outfitted with a small modern pendant and Eero Saarinen table.

Nearby, the kitchen is bordered by sleek wood cabinetry and incorporates a floating white island in the center.

A hidden door with a wood panel similar to the cabinets leads to an expansive pantry. Floor-to-ceiling windows continue past the floor to bring in ample natural light and direct views into the trees.

“Each room has its own character, but they are all powerfully connected,” says Alter. “The hope was that we could get conditions where the owners felt contained and cozy in the spaces, but also open and connected to everything else.”

Throughout the home, the team put forth significant effort to provide a continuous ceiling plane. Instead of installing can lights, the ceiling’s light fixtures were grouped together in steel housings to minimize their presence. Light switches and outlets were also camouflaged into strips of recessed steel to prevent distraction from the home’s architectural detailing and views of the exterior landscape.

An expansive glass slider off the living room guides users to the courtyard with a pool, deck, and grill area.

The outdoor space is hidden from the road behind a 6-foot, concrete privacy wall, while shou sugi ban cedar covers the rest of the structure. The Japanese technique was used to preserve the wood by charring it with fire, with this particular application giving the cedar its warm brown notes.

“What struck me about this one was the exterior,” says juror Michael Hennessey. “I think it’s solid from a composition and material organization.”—s.g.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

SEPTEMBER 2019

âš«

B U I L D E R 71

GRAND AWARD ARCHITECT

Robert M. Gurney Architect BUILDER

Peterson & Collins SIZE

7,290 square feet COST

Withheld

Renovation on Cox’s Row INTERIOR RENOVATIONS

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B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Anice Hoachlander

Originally cOnstructed by cOl. JOhn cOx between 1805 and 1820, this project—Renovation on Cox’s Row— represents one of the five historical row houses built by Cox in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood. The string of perfectly proportioned brick homes are set back from the street and display Federal period exterior details, including dormers and laden swags in recessed panels.

The home’s empty-nest owners approached local firm Robert M. Gurney Architect to update the interior layout and traditional elements, all while respecting the historical integrity of the existing architecture and creating space for their extensive art collection.

Made up of three volumes and encompassing five levels and 7,290 square feet, the existing room sizes were generous, but the layout was disjointed with certain areas physically and visually disconnected from each other.

“Basically, what we inherited was a series of compartmentalized rooms,” says Robert Gurney, principal at the firm. “We really tried to open the whole space up, but at the same time retain all the good historical details that the house possessed.”

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and sleek wood cabinetry.

Located on the second level, the master suite incorporates a spacious seating area, dual closets, and a modern bath. Three additional bedrooms, all with en suite baths, on the third and fourth levels provide ample space for visiting children or other guests. The firm also performed extensive work on the basement, where it moved several mechanical systems and added media, exercise, and laundry space.

Due to its historical significance, changes to the structure’s exterior were minimal. A skylight was added to the roof to bring light into the center of the home, and window openings on the back side were enlarged, but Gurney and team ensured these revisions—along with all of the other changes and additions—were sensitive to the scale and composition of the existing footprint.

“This project is very strong,” notes juror Michael Hennessey. “We all know how difficult it is to bridge the gap between something new and old, and this one nailed it.” —s.g.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Anice Hoachlander

As part of that process, Gurney and his design team were able to create an open, elongated first floor from the front entrance to the kitchen in the rear. To further foster interior connectivity, they added a central modern stair that rises from the basement to the third level, and a bridge provides access from the master suite to an office.

Original crown moldings and robust columns in the main living room, plus wood flooring on the upper floors, were kept and restored, while new elements, such as the asymmetric marble fireplaces and statement lighting features, were added to complement the older details.

“We liked the idea of juxtaposing the original features of the house with some modern elements,” says Gurney. “It became this design challenge of what could we save, what could we get rid of, and try to synthesize everything to create this holistic project.”

In the kitchen, which was isolated in the back of the home in the original floor plan, the design team chose a variety of timeless materials, including glazed white subway tile on the walls, transparent hanging shelves,

“This project is very strong. We all kno w H O W D I F F I C U LT I T I S T O B R I D G E T H E G A P bet w een

so m ething ne w and old, and this one nailed it.”

—JUROR MICHAEL HENNESSEY

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

SEPTEMBER 2019

⚫

B U I L D E R 75

B EF OR O RE E RE NO N OVA VA TI T ION ON

GRAND AWARD ARCHITECT

Blaze Makoid Architecture BUILDER

McLoughlin Construction Corp.

SIZE

11,500 square feet COST

Withheld

WHOLE-HOUSE REMODELS & ADDITIONS

Joshua McHugh

Old Orchard old orchard began its life as a modern spec house in East Hampton, N.Y., with a somewhat quirky two-level plan and a relatively nondescript modern architecture. Its owners occupied the structure for a year before commencing with the design process for remodeling and expanding it to meet their family’s specific needs and desires. Bridgehampton, N.Y.–based Blaze Makoid Architecture introduced four discrete interventions—a central addition through the main portion of the 10,000-square-foot house plus three small new structures totaling about 1,500 square feet—that dramatically transform the look and feel of the original while maintaining a fresh and clean modern expression.

The existing single-story-tall aluminum and glass structure has a full basement that opens to the exterior at either end of the house, with two lower level bedrooms and a sunken court at the east end and a ramp down to a twocar garage at the west. The additions are similar in scale and proportion to the original house, although rendered in afromosia wood and glass that provides a warmer counterpoint to the existing cool modern aesthetic.

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B U I L D E R 77

“They w ere R E S P E C T F U L T O W H AT W A S T H E R E, but I think they gave it a fresh, m odern, livable interior and exterior.”

—JUROR J. CARSON LOONEY

A wood-clad “tube” inserted through the center of the house provides a distinctive and inviting entry that establishes a central axis that leads to a new pool house at the rear of the 1.9-acre site. Raised several steps above the first floor, the designers introduced a series of spaces that blur the distinction between inside and out with an interior entry hall and exterior outdoor patio that can function as a covered outdoor dining area. A large skylight at the center brings abundant natural light into the home, and pairing the central tube with the pool house clarifies the geometric organization of the backyard while deftly incorporating the original swimming pool into the overall composition of the house and landscape.

A new single-story-tall office structure at the west end of the house floats above the lower-level garage entry, providing camouflage for the unsightly existing ramp to the basement. A new two-story master bedroom pavilion at the east end sits within the original lower court, attached to the main level of the house via a bridge and to the basement through a landscaped courtyard. Its upper level is rendered in wood and glass sitting on a stucco-clad plinth.

The lower level provides a substantial dressing room for the new master suite.

While the overall palette of the home remains white, as before, the architects introduced wood accents like a tall millwork piece dividing the kitchen and dining rooms to integrate warmer tones throughout. Additional wood accent walls create features in both new and old, interior and exterior spaces, making it difficult to discern the new and old portions of the design.

A high-efficiency geothermal system provides heating and cooling, with a 25 kW rooftop solar array generating electricity. Indigenous plants are utilized in the upgraded landscaping of the property.

Old Orchard demonstrates how a thoughtful series of light-handed additions and remodeling can transform a bland and rather uninspiring design into something truly remarkable.—e.k.

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Joshua McHugh

GRAND AWARD ARCHITECT

Aidlin Darling Design BUILDER

McIntosh Builders SIZE

3,089 square feet COST

$528 per square foot

Glen Ellen Aerie

Matthew Millman

CUSTOM HOME: 5,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS

the glen ellen aerie is a dramatically sited residence that floats above a 20-acre property in the foothills of Northern California’s Mayacamas Mountains.

San Francisco–based Aidlin Darling Design designed the 3,089-square-foot home to maximize views of the Sonoma Valley and please the owners’ request for a singlestory residence where they could spend their later years without concerns about mobility.

Conceptually, the house is organized as three distinct volumes located on a north-south axis—two solid standing seam black zinc-clad boxes and a long, narrow glass pavilion that floats over the sloping property on thin metal columns. The entry and kitchen fill the southern solid block, with two guest rooms and associated necessities located in the north volume. The main glazed volume along the west side of the house has living and dining space at the south end, a library in the middle, and a master suite at the north. Each end opens directly to decks that extend the length of the volume and provide expansive indoor–outdoor living.

Ceilings of western red cedar are paired with distressed wide-plank, oak f looring to establish a treehouseesque effect for the main living spaces. While the main portion of the house intentionally blurs the distinction between interior and exterior, the house’s material choices can be

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B U I L D E R 81

“I appreciate the T W O S T R O N G H O R I Z O N TA L P L A N E S. They have this floating w ood roof, this w ood floor, and every thing vertical is alm ost transparent w ithin those planes, w hich I think is perfect for this site.”

—JUROR MICHAEL HENNESSEY

viewed as a series of oppositions. The closed nature of the two masses lie in marked contrast to the glazed pavilion.

The matte finish of the self-weathering black zinc is set against the sleek surfaces of the glass. Rough-sawn red cedar ceilings and distressed oak floors within the glass area contrast with the concrete floors and white ceilings in the more closed volumes.

Subtle variations give the minimalist home a strong sense of texture and depth. Within the main volume, the thin ceiling slats run in the long direction of the house, emphasizing its length, while the wide flooring planks run in the short direction, giving the rooms a sense of intimacy while directing views to the valley beyond.

The narrowness of the overall composition facilitates natural cross ventilation across the house, whose climactic conditions vary from chilly fog to warm sun, typical of California’s prime wine growing region. High performance glazing systems, protected from direct sunlight by wide eaves, cut heating and cooling loads, as does the use of a high albedo roof membrane.

Sadly, the award-winning home existed as seen here for less than a year; it and much of its surrounding landscape was consumed during a wildfire in 2017, although the owners have vowed to rebuild exactly as initially conceived.—e.k.

Matthew Millman

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GRAND AWARD ARCHITECT

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects BUILDER

Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors SIZE

214,300 square feet COST

$43 million

MULTIFAMILY, DUPLEXES, TOWNHOMES, A ND MIXED-U S E

One Museum Place

one museum place, located on atlanta’s peachtree Street, is surrounded by the city’s leading art and cultural institutions on all sides, including the staggered forms of the High Museum of Art, designed by Richard Meier and later expanded by Renzo Piano, directly across the street.

Atlanta-based Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects has met and reciprocated this cultural and architectural context in the massing of the community’s buildings, which stagger across the lot in geometric steps.

The structures form an expansive front courtyard and automobile court, with views onto the High Museum from the full-length residence windows on the west side. The windows fill each unit with natural light and ventilation, and provide views of the city and of Ansley Park, a planned

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Left: Tara Carter (bottom ); Timothy Hursley

“It feels thoughtful, T H E R E’S A R I C H N E S S A B O U T I T … The dexterity, the m aterial, the proportion and arrange m ent of the w indo ws, and just the co m position of the m assing is just really w ell done.” —JUROR JONATHAN TATE

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as roof terraces, an owners’ lounge in the left-side building, and a fitness center on the right side.

Each window is equipped with double-pane glass, low-E coatings, and Thermo-Edge stainless steel spacer bars.

These features enhance the building’s energy efficiency, repel solar heat and UV rays in the summer, and reflect heat back into the unit in the winter. White TPO roofing further offsets solar gain to keep the building cool.

The property is landscaped to efficiently capture and store rainwater. Its native and non-native plants were chosen for their ability to grow and thrive in the community’s urban location on expected and normal levels of rainfall, with minimal maintenance or supplemental irrigation.

The site’s location also places it close to Atlanta’s rapid transit system, which residents can access by walking across the High Museum piazza.—m.s.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Maria Velasquez

neighborhood by Frederick Law Olmsted, to the east.

The community’s material palette matches its museum neighbor in sections of white-gray brick cladding, then contrasts it with reflective, silvery-blue brick and dark gray panels. Blocks of uniform material further segment the building’s exterior, while repeating patterns form cohesion between each of the 44 individual residences. The only round edges in the footprint are a number of cylindrical towers, which extend from the residential spaces as unique room features or lanais.

The homes range in size from 1,256 square feet to 4,844 square feet, with one to three bedrooms, access elevators in each foyer, and expansive lanai spaces with grills and wet bars. Custom builder JW Collection builds each interior to buyers’ specifications. Homeowners have access to individualized garage space in the parking area, as well

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MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

MGa | Marcus Gleysteen Architects BUILDER

McGeough Custom Homes SIZE

7,310 square feet COST

Withheld

PRODUCTION: MORE THAN 3,500 SQ U ARE F EE T

Grant Street House

SEPTEMBER 2019

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Marcus Gleysteen

88 B U I L D E R

architecture firm mga | marcus gleysteen architects formed the shape, size, and interior plan of the Grant Street House around the constraints of a steep granite outcropping on the site. The 7,310-square-foot home, built on spec by McGeough Custom Homes in Lexington, Mass., is terraced into the rock across four levels with open floor plans and broad window walls that maximize the available natural light.

The exterior’s modern forms complement its surroundings—particularly the natural rock and mature shade trees, and the traditional architectural context of the neighboring homes. A series of terraced spatial elements reduce the visual impact of the home’s height and size, including black window trims that break the larger exposures into smaller squares. A loggia-shaded roof deck further contrasts the abstract stucco form below.

The home’s stark surfaces and modern angles extend to the inside, with white walls set off by light marble accents and understated wood flooring. The main living spaces on the second floor are scaled to fit large groups, but retain a sense of intimacy with only a few occupants.

All formal spaces are open to each other, including the living room and dining room, with direct access to the bedrooms on the third floor.

A broad stairway serves as a connection point between the home’s levels, tying the vertical format together, and doubles as a central light well.—m.s.

MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

Griffin Enright Architects BUILDER

Henderson Construction SIZE

3,000 square feet COST

Withheld

Venice Beach

PRODUCTION: 3,500 SQUARE FEET O R LES S

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Taiyo Watanabe

this 3,000-square-foot, single-family residence in Venice Beach, Calif., was built as a speculative development. Los Angeles–based Griffin Enright Architects solved the long, narrow site by introducing “telescoping” elements that extend its mass into the south-facing side yard, while using expansive arrays of glass to increase the perception of these extensions even further.

The front of the house is notable for the dark articulation of the garage, which allows the main white portion of the house to seemingly float above the ground. A canted volume on the south side of the home denotes access and cleverly brings visitors to a graceful double-height stair and entry hall.

A side yard patio that can be glimpsed from the entrance extends the kitchen space through an opening to an outdoor terrace. Two steps down from the foyer, the combined living area receives abundant natural light and fosters connections between inside and out. The lap pool comes to the edge of the living room and is sheltered by the cantilevered second floor, which provides shade and creates larger spaces on that level. The second floor accommodates four bedrooms, with the master suite located at the widened rear of the house. It overlooks the pool from floor-to-ceiling glazing and a full-width deck that provides framed views while protecting both first- and second-floor outdoor spaces from direct sunlight.

The Venice Beach House consciously uses its design elements to create a rich living environment with great variety within a relatively compact footprint.—e.k.

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MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

Donald Lococo Architects BUILDER

Clemens Builders SIZE

400 square feet COST

$300 per square foot

Black Metal & White Plaster

KITCHEN (NEW CONSTRUCTION OR R E MOD E L)

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Anice Hoachlander

donald lococo architects found inspiration for this Arlington, Va., kitchen renovation when it stripped back the old baseboard and trim of the old Tudor home, discovering white plaster and black metal frames.

Using the “beautiful, refined, and restrained palette” of the existing home as a base, Donald Lococo and his team incorporated modern elements that complemented the space and respected the existing character. The team created a two-story, untrimmed ceiling pitch identical to the existing roof and chiseled dormers, allowing natural light to flow into the space from the full glass wall at the end of the kitchen.

The centerpiece of the renovated kitchen is a 13-foot black steel tower on the island, weighing over 200 pounds.

The white island and accompanying tower complemented the black steel windows while adding a new, contemporary element. The steel tower presented a challenge to Lococo’s team, as the base had to be finessed through the island cabinetry to support the structure. With lost cabinet space above and below, the team adorned the tower structure with transparent shelves to hold glassware and dishes. The shelves solve storage issues and allow light to move through the kitchen, creating a continuous space.

The simplicity of the design allows it to have high functionality and efficiency—a refrigerator is concealed and blended into the design—that doesn’t overcomplicate the space. “I think it’s more about what’s not there than what is,” Lococo said. “I think it’s a matter of really trying to say more with less.”—v.s.

MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

Brooks + Scarpa BUILDER

Studio Dwell Architects SIZE

2,148 square feet COST

$465 per square foot

CUSTOM HOME: 5,000 SQUARE FEET OR LE S S

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Marty Peters

Lipton Thayer Brick House

when an investment banker with an interest in art and architecture hired Lawrence Scarpa of Hawthorne, Calif.–based Brooks + Scarpa to design his new Evanston, Ill., house, it was far from clear how the architect would respond to the locale. The client was drawn to a steel house Scarpa had designed in Venice, Calif., and expected something similar. But Scarpa, who partnered with Chicago-based Studio Dwell Architects on the project, had other ideas: “We’re in Chicago; we need to do brick,” he said. That decision led to a taut 21-foot-tall brick box that lines a 2,800-square-foot single-family residence.

The house’s defining feature is its moiré-patterned façade. “It’s a simple screen that you can almost pass by without noticing,” Scarpa says. “In some ways, it’s featureless unless you really look at it.”

Unlike the home’s more prosaic neighbors, Scarpa choreographed an elaborate entry sequence: A diagonal walk across the front yard ensures that visitors experience the changing natural light across the rippled façade as they approach the front door.

The structure’s open floor plan is quite simple, with a double-height great room that accommodates living and dining areas immediately adjacent to the courtyard. The kitchen shares the same space, with its appliances tucked into white millwork. An office occupies a small pavilion on the western edge of the courtyard, and it is linked to the living spaces via a glassy corridor. Upstairs, a large master suite anchors the rear of the house, and a small guest suite is located above the office.—e.k.

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MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

Resolution: 4 Architecture BUILDER

Somerset Fine Home Building SIZE

7,360 square feet COST

$410 per square foot

Bridgehampton House

MODULAR / PREFAB HOME

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Joseph Tanney

one doesn’t expect to find a modular home in the exclusive summer enclave of Bridgehampton on Long Island’s eastern end, but the Bridgehampton House doesn’t look like it arrived via flatbed truck. That’s by design, as the two-story residence created by New York–based Resolution: 4 Architecture reflects more than a decade and a half of design research in modular construction. Approximately 80% of the project’s construction was done off-site.

The house sits within a context of smaller cottages, but the careful development of the 7,360-square-foot home in three wings mitigates the difference in scale while weathered gray cedar siding matches the predominant neighborhood material and hue. Designed as a summer retreat for a family of five, the seven-bedroom home is predicated on the fluid connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, with its interior surrounded by 5,800 square feet of continuous outdoor decking. Extensive glazing, often configured as sliding glass doors, helps break barriers between inside and out.

From the street, similarly scaled north and south pavilions are connected by a second-floor bridge structure that shelters the pedestrian entrance from a tree-lined entry court. The north pavilion houses a two-car garage and office, while the larger south structure extends deep into the lot, with the primary living spaces defining the edge of a sizable protected backyard for the family’s children.

The Bridgehampton House expresses the promise of prefabricated homes—it reaps all the benefits without revealing its provenance.—e.k.

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MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

Blaze Makoid Architecture BUILDER

J.Bialsky Premiere Design & Development SIZE

724 square feet COST

Withheld

Quimby Pool House

MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

A C C ES S OR Y B U ILD I NG

set on a 3 -acre site with a 12,500 -square-foot contemp orary home, the Quimby Po ol House in Bridgehampton, N.Y., provides a direct poolside space to reprieve from the summer sun. The structure, designed by local architecture firm Blaze Makoid Architecture, complements the existing pool and landscape design by Hollander Design and includes shaded living space, an outdoor kitchen, exterior shower, and inside bath. A simple, wood core was created to house the recessed, stainless kitchen, bath, and mechanical spaces. To its left, a generous covered living space is framed by punctured screens.

Inspired by the surrounding natural environment, the screens, positioned above and around the sides of the outbuilding, display an organic pattern cut from lightweight aluminum panels. According to the firm, the panels direct views, add privacy, and create a sense of enclosure. The design also incorporates a glass roof between the structural members above to let sunlight flow into the area and keep precipitation out.—s.g.

Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects BUILDER

Shramek Construction

Blue Sail

SIZE

2,770 square feet COST

Withheld

WHOLE-HOUSE REMODELS & ADDIT IO NS

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Bottom: Charles Mayer; Top: Darren Bradley

ehrlich yanai rhee chaney architects felt this existing Pacific Palisades, Calif., home did a poor job taking advantage of its Pacific Ocean views and wanted to create a home that highlighted the obvious asset. Through a process of “reduction and editing,” the firm reimagined the layout and opened the back side to the landscape.

The team first wanted to “create a journey from the public realm to the private realm,” says Takashi Yanai, partner at the firm. To achieve this, they teamed with landscaping firm Terremoto to create a faux beach boardwalk, with board-form concrete walls that hid the house—and ocean view—from the public eye.

Interior spaces were reorganized to create a combined living space, with the home’s kitchen, dining, living, and study spaces in a singular room that looks to an outdoor deck through a 9-foot high, 40-foot wide opening.

The simple, restrained material palette, including concrete floors and walnut cabinets, helped update the home without detracting focus from the view and location.—v.s.

MERIT AWARD

CUSTOM HOME: MORE THAN 5,000 SQU A RE FE ET

ARCHITECT

Aidlin Darling Design BUILDER

DeMattei Construction SIZE

5,870 square feet COST

Withheld

Adam Rouse

Tree House

The Tree house, designed by Aidlin dArling design for a family in Palo Alto, Calif., utilizes spatial relationships with existing coastal live oaks and redwoods to provide privacy, beauty, and a rich outdoor living experience in the context of a dense suburban neighborhood.

The home is made up of a series of horizontal and vertical forms that appear to interlock from the outside, united by a zinc metal skin that frames the existing trees and shields the upper floors from unwanted views, in or out. The main living spaces’ wood walls and concrete floors extend past this skin through a series of sliding glass walls, forming a concrete patio that extends across the back and far side of the home, shaded by the upper level. The indoor–outdoor spatial blend enables passive ventilation, which cools the home without the need for an air conditioning system, and maximizes the penetration of natural light.

The mesh of modern forms, living trees, and natural materials creates a strong fusion among the spaces, which flow into each other without distinct demarcation.—m.s.

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SEPTEMBER 2019

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B U I L D E R 99

MERIT AWARD

MULTIFAMILY, DUPLEXES, TOWNHOMES, A N D MI X ED- U SE

ARCHITECT

Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS BUILDER

Potomac Construction Group SIZE

34,693 square feet COST

$444 per square foot

The Sanctuary

bonstra | haresign architects has shaped the Sanctuary out of the historic structure and exterior features of an iconic 1897 Gothic Revival church in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The full community includes the adapted church, its annex, and two adjacent townhouses, covering almost 35,000 square feet.

The church was entirely gutted in the restoration process, leaving only the sanctuary framing, the annex’s concrete floors, and the top floor’s vaulted ceilings. The previously inaccessible bell tower, an original stairwell, and wooden staircase were preserved and restored. A new third floor and mezzanine level occupy the church’s once-open vertical spaces, and stairways within select units allow access to views from the rooftop and tower.

All of The Sanctuary’s 30 residences are unique, with spaces defined by the existing architecture, including original stained glass windows.

Hazardous materials in the 120-year-old structure were removed and replaced with finish products that exceed LEED sustainability standards.—m.s.

Eric Taylor

MERIT AWARD ARCHITECT

LDa Architecture & Interiors BUILDER

Williams Building Co.

Scott’s Grove MERIT AWARD

SIZE

7,500 square feet COST

$228 per square foot

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

ARCHITECT

Best Practice Architecture/ Hybrid Architecture BUILDER

Hybrid Design SIZE

4,650 square feet COST

Withheld

Big Mouth House

Top: Ed Sozinho; Bottom: Randi Baird

MU L TI F A M I L Y , D U P L E X ES , T O WNH O M E S , A N D M I X E D - U S E

as an innovative solution to urban living and multifamily design, the Big Mouth House in Seattle provides a trio of townhomes for flexible city dwellers. Best Practice Architecture, in collaboration with Hybrid Architecture, designed each of the units, which range in size from 1,420 square feet to 1,850 square feet, with lower-level accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Residents can use the lower level as an office or guest space, or as a way to generate additional income as a short- or long-term rental.

In addition to the ADU spaces, the exterior of the modular structure is covered with black metal cladding and varying window sizes. Custom pink powder-coated details and a rooftop mural give the project unique pops of color.

Inside, units A and B exhibit similar floor plans upstairs with bedrooms and a bath on the second level and main living space on the third. Unit C flips that layout and includes a floor-to-ceiling, cantilevered window on the second-floor living space for city views.—s.g.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

connected by a classic boardwalk system, scott’s Grove on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard was designed to evoke the idea of a small neighborhood village. The project, designed by Massachusetts-based LDa Architecture & Interiors and developed by nonprofit organization Island Housing Trust, is made up of nine affordable duplex homes with equal options of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The community serves residents from 60% to 100% of the average median income.

“The design approach focuses on the fundamental belief that housing should create healthy, pleasant, and sustainable homes for individuals and families at all levels of income,” says the firm.

To blend in with the surrounding Cape-style homes that are prevalent on the island, the firm outfitted each of the duplex pairs, located in four clusters, with cedarshingled exteriors. Inside, the modest units include an open kitchen, dining, and living area, while the expanded deck walkways serve as a central gathering location for all residents.—s.g.

NAHB CHAIRMAN’S LETTER

Modern Building Codes Boost Resiliency Report finds homes built to recent code fared better in hurricanes b y GR E G UG A L D E , N A H B C H A I R M A N OF T H E B OA R D

Courtesy NAHB

B

uilding codes are where they need to be when it comes to resilience against natural disasters, according to a new report commissioned by the NAHB. Each year, hurricane season reminds us that homes can be damaged or destroyed by the winds and rain that extreme weather events bring. Texas A&M University recently finalized a report that sought to determine whether the year a home was built impacted its resilience to natural disasters.

Home builders can have a complicated relationship with codes: Excessive regulations can make homes too expensive to build, but sensible regulations provide a framework that help builders construct homes that are safe and well-built.

In 2017, parts of Texas and Florida experienced heavy damage from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, respectively. To better understand building performance relative to the age of the structure, NAHB contracted with the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University to conduct a study to see if there was a correlation between the year a home was built and the amount of wind damage it sustained during a hurricane.

The report found that newer homes built to the International Code Council’s International Residential Code (IRC)—the residential building code used in 49 states that creates minimum requirements for oneand two-family dwellings—fared better than older homes in hurricane-force winds.

Prior to this study, anecdotal reports, including statements in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s damage assessments

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

and media coverage, suggested that homes built to the IRC performed well in both states.

However, there was little empirical evidence to support those claims.

The study found that in both Texas and Florida, homes built to modern codes, defined as any edition of the IRC, were less damaged by hurricane-force winds than older homes.

During hurricanes Harvey and Irma, roofs and wall coverings were the most damaged elements of homes. Homes built before 2003 in Texas and 2008 in Florida, and therefore built to older codes, sustained more damage than newer homes.

However, very few homes constructed after 2003 in Texas or after 2008 in Florida suf-

fered severe damage to roof sheathing, wall sheathing and framing or total loss and collapse of those components. The IRC’s structural provisions ensure that the integrity of the roof framing and sheathing is maintained, and that wall structure and sheathing damage is minimized.

These observations demonstrate that building codes are where they should be and that adherence to the IRC has been effective in preventing excessive damage to homes during a hurricane. The NAHB will continue to advocate for reasonable and effective building codes and standards, encouraged by the conclusion that we are on the right track toward making housing safer for all Americans.

PARTICIPATE IN SUSTAINABILITY DISCUSSIONS NAHB initiated the HBA Sustainability Network in 2018 as a way for local home builder associations (HBAs) to educate others on sustainability efforts that are occurring throughout the U.S. Created as a forum to share initiatives that have worked well, the group meets via conference calls every other month.

The calls feature subject-matter experts on topics that members are interested in exploring more deeply.

In June, the director of sustainability at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) spoke about greening Multiple Listing Service (MLS) fields to realize the

full value of high-performance homes.

The HBA Sustainability Network can be a great resource for anyone interested in starting a green building council or committee, wanting to learn more about recent sustainable home trends and consumer preferences, or featuring a green home in their Parade of Homes.

The group is open to HBA staff with all levels of experience and involvement. Contact NAHB’s Anna Stern at astern@nahb.org if you are interested in getting involved with the HBA Sustainability Network.

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NAHB HOME INNOVATION

New-Home Lighting Trends The number of installed light fixtures in new residential projects has grown in the past decade

by HOME INNOVATION RESEARCH LABS

M

ore lighting fixtures—both interior and exterior— are being installed on new homes than there were a decade ago, according to the latest Home Innovation Annual Builder Practices Survey. Some configurations have seen more growth than others.

According to survey data, the average number of interior lighting fixtures per new single-family detached house grew from 27 fixtures in 2005 to 37 in 2018 fixtures. In multifamily, the number grew from 16 interior fixtures per unit to 25 fixtures in the same period.

This increase in fixtures means lighting has gotten the attention of builders and developers as a key differentiator—it’s no longer just builder-grade fixtures that the buyer can plan to update once they realize the lighting in their new home can be improved.

The accompanying graph compares the average number of interior fixtures installed in new homes in 2005 and 2018 for each fixture style, based on Builder Practices Reports.

There has been significant growth in recessed ceiling lights, undercounter lighting, and pendants. On the opposite end of the market growth spectrum were bath vanity lighting, track lighting, and wall sconces.

A few factors have markedly influenced lighting choices by new-home builders:

•

• AVERAGE NUMBER OF INTERIOR LIGHTING FIXTURES (installed in new single-family homes) 2005 0

2

4

2018 6

8

10

12

14

16

18

•

Recessed Cans Ceiling Mount

•

Bath Vanity Undercounter Ceiling Fans Pendant

Ceilings are now, on average, taller in new homes than they were in the mid2000s. There are more 9-foot ceilings in single-family homes than 8-foot ceilings, giving a little more room for suspended lights, such as pendants.

LED technology has created opportunities for lighting manufacturers and designers to innovate. Compared with older technologies, LEDs can be small, more durable, more energy efficient, and have very good color rendition.

Automated lighting control is now a common feature in homes, and mobile and cellular technology gives occupants the ability to control lighting from anywhere.

Outdoor lighting has also experienced a bit of a renaissance, increasing from about five fixtures per house, on average, to 11 during the 2005 to 2018 period.

This seems to respond to the increased attention given to outdoor living space and features over the past decade.

Wall Sconce Attic Light Chandelier Architectural Track Source: Home Innovation Research Labs

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Looking back at the 2005 Builder Practices Lighting Report, the average number of walkway, path, and stair light fixtures has doubled.

Flood and spot lamps have nearly tripled. On the other hand, while post-mounted lights have seen modest gains, they seem to have missed the lighting “boom.” For more details on trends from the Annual Builder Practices Survey, visit homeinnovation.com.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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NAHB ECONOMY

Apartment Construction Cools Is multifamily construction leveling off and spreading out? b y ROB E RT D I E T Z , N A H B C H I E F E C O N OM I S T

A

fter a brief uptick in demand due to for-sale housing affordability challenges, apartment construction cooled off during the first half of 2019. Multifamily construction of apartments in five-plus-unit properties was down 0.2% for the first six months of 2019 compared with the start of 2018. Multifamily permit issuance for these developments was down 1%.

These changes are consistent with the NAHB forecast of a leveling off of apartment construction in 2019. They also reflect how a more dovish Federal Reserve—and lower interest rates—is having an impact on housing demand, reversing the end-of-the-year shift toward rental housing. For example, the NAHB quarterly measure of multifamily developer confidence declined to a below break-even level of 40 at the start of 2019.

Except for the end of 2018, recent trends have favored singlefamily housing and homeownership. From the middle of 2016 to the end of 2018, the homeownership rate increased from a post–Great Recession low of 63% to 64.6%. This gain was not a surprise given the underlying demographics, particularly a growing number of millennials entering their early 30s. NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data finds that over this two-and-a-half-year period, the number of homeowning households increased by 4.5 million, while the number of renting households declined by almost half a million.

Two decades ago, roughly 13% of new multifamily units were built in properties with 50 or more units.

In 2018, that share had expanded to 61%.

But this marked a dramatic change from the 2010 to 2016 period when the net growth in households was firmly concentrated on the rental side of the market, both multifamily and single-family (with the vast majority of the single-family supply, due to existing ownerowned homes, shifting to the rental stock). The brief end-of-2018

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shift to rental demand, in a sense, echoed this prior 2010–16 period. Due to a 10-year low in housing affordability caused by higher mortgage rates, the homeownership rate dipped for the first time in more than two years to 64.3% at the start of 2019.

Besides the own/rent decision, multifamily construction data note other post-recession changes, namely a concentration of some economic activity in large metro areas. Two decades ago, roughly 13% of new multifamily units were built in properties with 50 or more units. In 2018, that share had expanded to 61%. The socalled missing middle (for example, new multifamily apartments in properties with fewer than 10 units) declined from under 30% of units in 1998 to just 5% of apartments in 2018. And of course, more of today’s multifamily production is built-for-rent. At the start of 2019, only 6% of apartment development was intended for sale, compared with a 20% historical share.

Perhaps some of those trends are changing, albeit slightly. For instance, the NAHB Home Building Geography Index, a spatial tracking of residential construction, found that while 87% of apartment construction occurred in large metro core or suburban areas (with a population of more than 1 million) or small metro core areas at the start of 2019, these regions actually saw net declines in apartment construction over the prior four quarters. In contrast, apartment construction gains were found in exurban and rural areas, indicating that the multifamily market is not just leveling off but is, to a lesser extent, spreading out. These changes are likely to continue as housing demand pushes back to the single-family, owner-occupied market in the quarters ahead.

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LAST DETAIL

Secluded Storage b y S Y MO N E G A RV E T T

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lthough the 2019 builder’s choice & custom home design Awards’ Project of the Year boasts modern, minimalist qualities, the Austin, Texas–based Sugar Shack Residence accommodates a bustling family looking for function as well.

In the home’s living room area, local firm Alterstudio Architecture added a unique storage feature between the oak wood–lined hallway to the master suite and the fireplace. A dark steel-paneled

closet sits flush with the fireplace wall and balances the other metal details present throughout the room. On the right side of the piece of steel, the metal itself has been rolled to provide a handle to open the door that swings to the left.

“To me, it’s like a beautiful painting,” says Kevin Alter, partner at the firm. “You can see a little bit of the character and beautiful texture, due to the way the steel came through the rollers.”

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Casey Dunn

AWARD WINNERS See the full collection of winning projects from the 2019 Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Awards at builderonline.com.

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