就像美国各地的城市一样奥斯丁在一个housing affordability crisis。尽管穷人正处于越来越不稳定的立场，而经历无家可归的人数继续升级 - 随着联邦驱逐禁令的到期，这一数字将突然和指数增长 - 中产阶级本身也耗尽选项。今年，奥斯汀的中位数房价达到了50万美元，部分原因是来自东北和西海岸的良好专业人士的大流行迁移，这打破了许多潜在的购房者梦想，即在城市内拥有住宅。在这个背景中，奥斯汀的栖息地for Humanityrecently completed 11 row houses in the Mueller neighborhood. Designed by the Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA), the 1,350–1,480-square-foot, two-story units were sold to qualifying families for approximately $186,000 each.
这种住房类型学（由派对墙，中等密度，中等负担能力附属）试图填补“缺失中间，，，，” a term coined by Opticos Design founder Daniel Parolek in 2010. The City of Austin’s development code has prohibited this sort of residence for decades, part of an overall reluctance on the part of city leaders to embrace Austin’s emergence as a big city with big-city infrastructure. The discomfort with big city living is not just a feature of the city council, it permeates the culture and expectations of many Texans, who are more accustomed to small-town or suburban environments. In this context, the Mueller row houses are an experiment as well as an aspirational gesture.
“栖息地必须证明这种类型学将在奥斯丁起作用，” Phyllis Snodgrass说奥斯汀的栖息地。“我们必须进行谈判的一部分是房屋概念的变化，从一个被院子和篱笆包围的独立建筑物到与共享的户外绿色绿色的围栏。”
开发的实验性质以及建立积极先例的可能性是吸引MHOA的项目。该实践是该市主要的设计公司之一，主要通过其酒店和商业工作来定义城市的建筑特征。这是一个以城市住房形式扩展这种影响的机会。Mhoa创始校长Michael HSU说：“我们想与栖息地一起做一些事情，当我们看到这个项目时，我们认为这是我们可以做得很好的事情。”“对于我们来说，参与一个更多数据驱动的过程，而少于正常的塑造量的架构方法，这很有趣。这些非常简单，这鼓励我们专注于使用户更好的体验的事物，例如整个内饰的窗户尺寸和放置良好的日光。”
The Mueller neighborhood, which is sited on the city’s old airport, is a bit of an experiment itself. Developed as a public-private partnership between the City of Austin and Catellus, a developer that specializes in converting brownfield sites into mixed-use urban districts, it combines a bedroom community of smaller homes on tiny lots; large apartment blocks; plenty of public green space, including two public pools; a commercial zone of corporate offices; an early-childhood private school; healthcare services; a lifestyle and entertainment district with shops, theaters, restaurants, and a children’s museum, and big box stores and chain retailers adjacent to the I-35 freeway. It also includes 25 percent affordable housing, both rental and for-purchase options. The affordable units are sprinkled throughout the neighborhood and are designed to be indistinguishable from the market-rate housing from the outside.
实际上，Mhoa行房屋比附近的市场率住房更具吸引力。为了将预算保持在其紧密的界限内，建筑师设计了三个外墙，这些立面在11个单元中重复：一个棕色砖块在垂直和水平课程中铺设；白色纤维水泥拱腹面板之一，其通风孔会产生有趣的图案。还有灰色板和板纤维水泥面板之一。前廊的插图特征墙是独一无二的，以及前门，由房主在瓷砖和克莱进口捐赠的薄砖中采摘。这些独特的触摸使每个单元在整体重复顺序中定制身份。
Inside, the space is efficient and airy with 10-foot-high ceilings (which are required by Mueller) and ample daylight entering through vinyl casement windows at the front and rear of the building. The floors are of engineered wood. Downstairs includes an open living/dining/kitchen area and a powder room. Upstairs has two bathrooms and two or three bedrooms, depending on the unit. A skylight at the top of the stair keeps the upper stair landing lively and bright. The townhouses achieved a five-star rating from Austin Energy’s Green Building program.
奥斯汀的栖息地also acted as the general contractor and built the townhouses for approximately $132-per-square-foot. The team was able to get many of the materials donated, including cabinetry from IKEA, which allowed them to invest in flourishes one wouldn’t expect to find in below-market housing, like decorative steel awnings, window surrounds, and address plates.
As for changing the housing expectations of Austinites more accustomed to large private yards, the row houses haven’t been a hard sell. Elizabeth Alvarado, a contract specialist with the State of Texas Health and Human Services, scooped one up to live in with her two sons after they left her children’s father’s home in South Austin. She makes too much money to qualify for low-income housing, but too little to purchase anything on the market. For her and her family, the Habitat Rowhomes were the best option. Alvarado told一个that she loves her new place. There is a park just across the street, in plain view from the front windows, where her boys can play, if they feel like it. “This is perfect,” she said. “I’m not a yard person.”
