Dogtrot Duo home rendering

Administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and sponsored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN), this program is intended to provide architecture students, working individually or in teams, with a platform to explore residential architecture and residential architectural practice. This competition challenges students to envision a house for HERE+NOW: informed by context, culture, and vernacular, but fully embracing 21st century technology and ideas of domesticity. The design goal of the house for HERE+NOW was to reflect an innovative, creative, environmentally responsible, and culturally sensitive approach to issues of domesticity while taking a strong conceptual position about housing and designing within a specific context.

Team Members: Sean Benson, Jabbar Cobbs, Shannen Martin, Kimberly Montgomery, Emanuel Soito, Hobed Villanueva

Team Members: Sean Benson, Jabbar Cobbs, Shannen Martin, Kimberly Montgomery, Emanuel Soito, Hobed Villanueva

The Dogtrot Duo home was designed for the Independence Heights community in Houston, Texas. Our design reflects careful attention to specific issues facing the community such as the challenges of gentrification, a substantial population of senior citizens who wish to age in place, substantial neighborhood vacancy due to residents migrating away seeking better housing, services and opportunities, and devastation from Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Ike.

Designed to meet rigorous Passive House certification and building science standards, the Dogtrot Duo was designed to be an affordable, net zero energy housing solution. The dogtrot configuration, which borrows from a Texas vernacular solution that provides a comfortable outdoor living space while assisting with natural ventilation through the living spaces of both units, increases marketability by creating a duplex that looks and feels like the traditional single family homes in the neighborhood.

With bungalow styling to maintain the aesthetic quality of the neighborhood, site features include inviting outdoor spaces with generous porches and a carport that doubles as a comfortable gathering space for people. The interiors respond to modern day living with open floor plans, built-in solutions for workspaces, storage, and seating to maximize space and efficiency, and high ceilings, operable windows, and clerestories to help the home feel larger and provide ample daylight and natural ventilation to increase comfort.