IHD

The 4th year undergraduate design studios focus on regenerative design and sustainable strategies in a public interest design and service learning format. We engage residents and community leaders, using their input to inform our design strategies. In addition to the challenge of gentrification, there is a substantial population of senior citizens who wish to age in place, while the next generation has migrated to the suburbs seeking better housing, services and opportunities. This trend, combined with devastation from Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Ike, has left the neighborhood largely vacant. The Jamison was carefully designed to double the foot print of the existing vernacular of the site. In doing this design goals were implemented to keep the existing rhythm of the street. The Gable roof along with front porches and pier and beam construction strongly influenced the design of the duplex home. Careful development went into the layout of the program, keeping all plumbing on the shared wall of the duplex which splits the two units in half. The garden in the center of the two porches aid in keeping the residents connected while also creating a view from the kitchen and living room out to the street.