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February 5, 2006

new construction infill housing

A recent discussion about some of the new houses being built in our area got me thinking about some of the new houses that I've seen recently in the old parts of town.

I decided to look at and photograph what seemed to be the average quality in-fill house, with a range of better and worse. As a number of the older houses deteriorate, it is the quality of the new construction that will set the tone going forward for many areas. The only qualifications I had in setting out was that the neighborhood had to be historic without actually being a designated historic area, this area needed to have experienced decline and neglect, and that the houses have to have been built to sell rather than specifically for someone.

These may be public or subsidized housing. There are blocks and blocks of these, with little variation. Nothing fancy, but nothing egregiously wrong either.

There are a few square blocks of these, with some minor variation. The last row of these townhomes may have the best view in the city. I feel sorry for the people that have to look at the buildings themselves on any kind of regular basis, though. The proportions seem all wrong and feel cheap. It's not like there isn't an entire neighborhood right there to draw from...

These are a few blocks away in the same neighborhood, overlooking Hollywood Cemetery. They are maybe the nicest infill houses that we saw. The proportions are right, the materials are right. The roof, if not slate, looks natural. Notice the transom window over the front door and the full-length windows. There are porches on the back of the houses as well. These are good.

We were driving down the street and I was like, "Stop here, I've got to get a picture of those hideous motherfuckers".

These are in an area that has seen many new houses. They need some trees.

A new development going into the ragged edge of a a historic neighborhood of big beautiful and ragged houses. The new old-style street lights are nice touch, the houses are big but uninspiring.

A unique design that mimics some of the playfulness of the larger houses near by. It'll be interesting to see how these age.

A standard design variation for the neighborhood. The group responsible for much of the infill in this area, Better Housing Coalition, has thankfully moved away from the vinyl siding and has been building better and better proportioned buildings.

Posted by john m at February 5, 2006 2:41 PM

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