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1) The $80 per sq ft metric we were shooting for when the Hope for Architecture initiative began around 2011, was premature. However ambitious and well intended, it should be noted that our mass wall model is a matter of invention.. not a purist replication of the past.
2) Which is to say (to the best of my knowledge), no one else is fusing old tech w/ modern construction advancements to the extent we have. I’m specifically referring to the combining of mass wall, clay brick masonry with conventional construction as the latter relates to..
3) .. floor and roof systems, interior partitioning and most of the finishes. That said, with any innovation, funding is critical, and in so much as funding means profit when your resources are self secured, innovation is more likely to survive when..
4) .. catering initially to a higher paying market. $80 a square ft is a budget for low income housing. There are a number of reasons why the ‘upper middle’ is so important in the role of supporting innovation.
5) For one, when inventing something, you don’t come out of the gate at the lowest achievable price point. Inventing is expensive and this particular market has the wherewithal to support it with a near patronizing role. (This is the pragmatic buttress.)
6) Secondly, this market tends to be less attached to the credential-ized familiar, and more willing to push the boundaries of taste and sensibility as first adopters. (This is the ‘aesthetic/exploration’ buttress.)
7) Thirdly, this market tends to be diversely educated, intellectual professionals who detect the need for structural change on many fronts including architecture and bldg.
8) They are more specifically motivated by the human condition, literally pursuing wellbeing as such, and realizing a need to ready ourselves against the uncertain future. (This is the ethos buttress.)
9) Lastly, the upper middle leads all other markets. Full stop. If we can carve out a significant niche within this 15%, this is where we are most likely capable of effecting real change in America’s disposable building culture. (This is the economics buttress.)
10) All of this said, I do believe the model we’ve created can provide a viable, meaningful living experience to the full spectrum of the market; from low income to one percenters.
11) Once we have inarguably proven that the Hope for Architecture model is broadly teachable, scalable and profitableーthis will be the time to distill it;
12) .. to figure out how cost effective we can actually make it without compromising the lifecycle and raw beauty that has defined our success so far.
To expand further on the HFA building model, this piece was submitted for the Urban Guild’s Excellence in Exploration award. Krier also told me it was the best essay he’d read in a long time.
