Architect: in situ studio
Project Location: Raleigh, NC
Project Completion Date: 2015

Short Description: The Ten at South Person was designed for a vacant site in downtown Raleigh. The project is a new housing format for Raleigh – modern, affordable, and possessing row house DNA. The design maximizes square footage at low cost, builds from defining characteristics of a surrounding historic district, and creates a healthy streetscape via stoops and the play of materials and relief at the street. The units sold in only six days at a price that was the least expensive per-square-foot housing offered in downtown in years. Despite its modern form, the complex nestlescomfortably within the neighborhood.

Architect’s Statement: Our clients approached us to design an affordable modern row house project on a vacant lot in downtown Raleigh. The property was in a historic district, so weaving the design into the neighborhood and satisfying the historic commission was a challenge. We approached this work by cataloging common characteristics of district buildings and conducting public meetings to gain support for the project. Through this, we identified archetypal priorities to work from – address the street via a stoop or porch, mitigate scale by expressing the module width of nearby houses, use a flat roof like other larger buildings in the district, use a masonry foundation and lap siding above, use repeated window sizes in a variable format by unit. The final design is a three-story walk-up with flex-space and garage on the ground floor, living spaces on the second floor, and bedrooms on the third. We placed a garden between two buildings of five units each to further reduced scale, and the rear, typically relegated to trash collection and service equipment, is as carefully considered as the front, opening to views of the city from a deck second level deck. An open stair connects all three levels and expands the experience of the modest interiors by connecting residents to the section of the building.

Type of Construction: The project is divided into two five-unit buildings with an intermediate garden. The ground level is a slab on grade, and exposed foundation areas and the stoop are clad with brick to establish a solid visual base. The structure is wood, with minimal use of engineered lumber to achieve corner cantilevers. Party walls separate the units, and support spaces packed along shared walls buffer privacy. Lap siding has a varied exposure to create texture on more solid walls and ensure that laps will align with window heads and sills. Windows are large, and as many operate as possible. The front and rear walls of each unit inset from shared walls to express each unit, create a deck on the rear, and provide relief along the street. The front wall has wood siding. HVAC units and electrical meters are easily accessed at the rear of the building, screened from view by brick party walls that extend past the recessed garage door. The project was built for $151/SF, including the cost of the land, site development costs, all professional fees, and construction costs.

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