A Building Hugging a Breezeway advances single-stair reform through solar access.

Historically, the evolution of urban residential buildings has been greatly impacted by solar access. The growing adoption of single-stair reform in North America creates the opportunity to revisit solar access as a form of shared living and mutual benefit.

A Lot More explores spatial and construction assemblies through small footprint homes.

Small lot subdivision laws including California’s SB 684 expand housing access by subdividing existing, low-density lots. Rather than a mandate for density, such laws can advance housing design and construction through the benefits of adjacencies.

Wandering Courtyard House turns outward to shape the spaces around it.

In post-war America, the designs of single-family homes have been defined through buffers offset from property boundaries, abetted through zoning and setback rules. A different disposition for a house is to embrace the spaces around it, creating rooms for exterior use while setting up relationships beyond the individual lot.

Courtyard Block envisions coordinated building across property lines.

Statewide and municipal zoning reforms legalizing ADUs, lot splits, and multi-family dwellings are reshaping single-family zoned urban blocks. Laws including California’s SB 9 can achieve greater impact through design tools that envision coordinated building, shifting from a focus on the individual lot to the collective block.