Met Eco: Green for All

The new ethos of low-income housing: A sustainable, well-designed place to call home.

Written by Molly Kincaid

The problem with low-income housing in the United States has long been the housing itself. Impersonal, poorly built, high-density "projects" feel more like a punishment to the people who live in them than a gesture of support. Carelessly designed, ill-maintained high-rises soon begin to perpetuate the cycle of poverty instead of helping to break it. And most of the country's homeless would rather sleep on the street than in the so-called shelters provided for their use.

But a new crop of architects have come along to challenge the unacceptable status quo. Not only do they believe that housing for the homeless and for low-income families and individuals should be aesthetically pleasing, they think it should be healthy, too—and an increasing number of cities are beginning to put up modern, morale-building residences that also adhere to the best principles of green construction.

"Just because they aren't privileged," says architect Lawrence Scarpa of Santa Monica's Pugh + Scarpa, "doesn't mean the poor should be deprived of good design."

The movement is most visible in California, thanks to the state's strict Title 24 regulations, which were created by the California Energy Commission to set statewide efficiency standards in new construction. Pugh + Scarpa's Broadway Court project in Santa Monica exceeds those greening regulations by 30 percent. The 41 units house formerly homeless individuals, who now enjoy whimsical design and spacious apartments that range from 820 to 1,050 square feet. The construction utilizes dual-ventilation, low-VOC products and an elaborate network of shades and canopies that help control climate and add a sculptural element to the exterior. "Much of this population's income goes to utilities," Scarpa says, "so it's even more important to make the buildings energy-efficient."

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