aMews House

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"aMews House demonstrates the\nrole of design in transforming an undesirable, restrictive Atlanta lot into a\nhumane and beautiful space. The project follows earlier research featured at the\n2017 Bi-City Biennale for Urbanism\/Architecture in Shenzen, China, which\nexplored the untold potential of leftover lots in cities worldwide. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"As opposed to suburban and\nexurban tract developments, projects like aMews House rely on such lots to\nprove infill housing that can support diversity, affordability, and\nsustainability in communities that have existing overlooked urban infrastructure.\nWorking in leftover lots requires specialized knowledge of overlapping zoning\nand building codes, something typical developers with more significant overhead\ncannot afford to expend. aMews House demonstrates that architect-developers who\nare well-versed in design and finance are critical to the success of such\nprojects. "]]],[1,"p",[]],[1,"blockquote",[[0,[],0,"\u0022This project is a\nresounding success despite the challenges posed by its context, neighborhood,\nand scale.\u0022 - Jury comment"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThis project is a\nresounding success despite the challenges posed by its context, neighborhood,\nand scale,\u201d noted the jury. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The project\u2019s lot is 20\nfeet wide, which allows for a 14-foot-wide house after special relief from\nsuburban zoning regulations\u2014in an urban setting\u2014were granted. In 2018, aMews\nHouse was the third smallest lot with a detached single-family residence in all\nof Atlanta. The two smaller lots were existing grandfathered structures. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"After working with\ncollaborative teams for much of his life, the architect altered his career\nto pursue a better work-life balance. In doing so, he sought to design a\nthoughtful house. However, without a portfolio full of residential work, it\nwas challenging to find a client to agree to such a project. Instead, the\narchitect decided it would be easier to become the client, pursue financing,\nand build a spec home. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"At the time, Atlanta\u2019s\nhousing market was heating up. To compete with developers with more significant\nresources, the architect focused on finding smaller, narrow lots, eventually\nuncovering aMews House\u2019s 20-foot by 75-foot lot. The city\u2019s zoning ordinances\nencourage speculative developers to destroy or add to a smaller house in order\nto maximize the building\u2019s site. Unfortunately, this strategy often hurts\nneighborhoods by creating homogenous housing stock that adds to Atlanta\u2019s\naffordability challenges. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"aMews House modestly\nattacks this market-driven paradigm. As its name implies, it is inspired by\nLondon\u2019s carriage house conversions. As luck would have it, a horseshoe was\nuncovered during foundation excavation providing an unplanned connection to the project muse."]]]]}