2023 BALA Winners: The Best of the Best
You'll find plenty of inspiration in these four award-winning projects from the Best in American Living Awards
What Gen-Z Buyers Really Want in a Home
The fervor of planning for Millennials in the home building industry has now pivoted to Gen Z. So, what does this new generation want?
4 Luxury Production Home Designs to Inspire
Yes, these are designs for production homes, but you won't find any cookie-cutter repetitive elements in this high-end selection
The New American Home 2024: Modern Features, Timeless Comfort
Explore the design elements and unique, luxe details that combine to create a sense of comfort and relaxed indoor/outdoor living in The New American Home 2024
4 Inspiring Adaptive Reuse Projects With Real Impact
From former schools to warehouses, these adaptive reuse projects—winners in the 2023 Best in American Living Awards—succeed in creating new housing and revitalizing their neighborhoods
Kid-Friendly Home Design Four Ways
Do your ‘family’ homes really deliver great design for parents and their children? Here are four clever home design ideas that consider kids and adults alike
Good News for Home Sales
How are new home sales likely to fare in 2005? According to economists at the National Association of Home Builders' Construction Forecast in October, single-family production will set another record next year. However, says David Seiders, NAHB's chief economist, "activity will flatten in 2005," as it is in the process of "topping out.
Local Leaders Lack Stately Vision
Peter S. Reinhart, senior vice president and general counsel for Edison, N.J.-based K. Hovnanian Cos., believes the ever-populous Garden State needs higher density zoning. But first, state planners must wrest power from municipal leaders, who lack the political will and courage to implement it. "If we continue to allow local authorities to make these decisions without consideration of overall s...
Public/Private Partnerships Pay
Public/private partnerships present a compelling win-win for builders of all sizes. When, for example, planners in Washington, D.C., wanted to replace a 1920s-vintage public school, they put out a request for proposals, but no bidders emerged — that is, until a restructured RFP allowed development of an apartment building on a 1.
The Affordable Zoning Paradox
Builders have long railed against inclusionary zoning, a popular municipal tactic that requires a number of homes in a new community be set aside for sale at below-market prices. Builders say it violates supply-and-demand common sense and yields less, not more, affordable housing. New research from the Los Angeles-based Reason Public Policy Institute bears them out.
San Francisco's $100,000 House
Clever Homes, a San Francisco construction-systems company that develops pre-fabricated homes partnered with Affordable Green Development and CNet Networks to unveil the "Now House," a 2,400-square-foot-house that cost a little over $100,000 to build and includes the latest electronic gadgetry. On display in the parking lot at SBC Park in San Francisco, the project demonstrates that affordable ...
Two of the Top 10
TimberSIL Nontoxic Pressure-Treated Wood: A sodium-silicate-based pressure-treatment system for wood that relies on a mineralization process rather than toxins to prevent infestations and decay. The patented chemistry and heat-treatment process result in the infusion of microscopic glass "crystals" throughout the wood, providing a permanent, insoluble treatment with no dusting or leaching.
Eucalyptus Hybrid Flooring
A hybrid eucalyptus tree, Lyptus is quickly becoming one of the world's most important hardwood lumbers, says manufacturer Weyerhaeuser, primarily because it represents a sustainable and renewable resource. In density, strength and technical properties, it compares favorably with hardwood maple, and it rivals cherry and mahogany in appearance.
Get Surreal!
Contemporary architecture returns to production-built housing, when a GIANT models an entire village in Orange County, Calif., after the shacks of an old mining town.
Handy Hangers
Simpson Strong-Tie has created an Architectural Products Group as a response to a clamoring from builders and architects for attractive connectors for exposed wood applications.
Design Sketchbook: Foyers
First impressions last, so put your best foot forward in the foyer. Know when to make a grand spash with a second entrance or stairway, and how to share space in compact designs.
