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4 Essential Reads for Architects: Designing a Just and Climate-Ready Housing Future

  • 1.  4 Essential Reads for Architects: Designing a Just and Climate-Ready Housing Future

    Posted 6 days ago

    HCD's Right To Housing 4 Essential Reads for Architects: Designing a Just and Climate-Ready Housing Future for the month of June

    Architects are increasingly called to bridge the gap between design, social equity, climate, and economic feasibility. These four resources share insights - from financing models to case studies - to help us build the housing our communities need and the planet demands.

    Penciling Out: Financing Solutions for Affordable & Climate Forward Housing -- The Boston Society of Architecture (BSA/AIA), AIA New York (AIANY), and AIA Los Angeles (AIA|LA)

    Green Social Housing: Lessons from Vienna -- Climate and Community Initiative

    The Evolving Landscape of Social Housing in New England: What We Learned -- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

    State of the Nation's Housing 2025 -- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

    Here is a summary:

    1. Penciling Out: Financing Solutions for Affordable, Climate-Forward Housing
    By AIA New York Housing and Urban Design Committees
    Read the full report
    View project page

    For your practice and toolset:

    • Design decisions around massing, layout, and building systems directly impact financial feasibility.

    • Understanding financing mechanisms like LIHTC, tax-exempt bonds, and local bonuses is critical to shaping viable, climate-aligned projects.

    Key city insights:

    • New York City: Zoning tools and policy ambition are strong, but success hinges on financial realism and collaboration.

    • Boston: Strong CDC networks and public-private trust lead to high-quality, community-centered projects.

    • Los Angeles: All-electric, density bonus projects are promising but challenged by complex financing layers and cost escalation.

    2. Vienna's Model: Green, Social Housing at Scale
    By Climate + Community Project
    Read the report

    For policy and design knowledge:

    • Vienna treats housing as public infrastructure and removes land from speculation.

    • Sustainability is integrated through transit-oriented planning, passive design, and shared public space.

    3. Evolving Social Housing in New England
    By Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
    Read the article

    For policy engagement and community practice:

    • Municipalities and mission-driven organizations are reimagining public housing through new governance models.

    • Architects have a role in helping civic institutions translate big visions into grounded, design-informed solutions.

    4. State of the Nation's Housing 2025
    By Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
    Read the full report

    For strategic framing and professional context:

    • Housing production has lagged behind the need for over a decade, with widening affordability gaps.

    • Demographic trends, climate migration, and racial disparities demand informed, design-literate responses from architects.

    • Cross-sector collaboration is key, and architects must bring design intelligence into housing policy conversations.



    ------------------------------
    Ismar Enriquez AIA
    Practice
    Pasadena CA
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