10/13/95
Mitch Emmons (emmonmb@mail.auburn.edu)
AU ARCHITECTS HELPING TO CHANGE THE FACE OF PUBLIC
HOUSING
Faculty in the Department of Architecture are working with the Alabama Council on Human Relations to design a unique public housing complex for the city of Opelika.
Construction of the $2.5 million project, to be built in Opelika's Darden Oaks area on property formerly the old Darden High School football field, should begin this winter, says Bonnie Rasmussen, planning coordinator at the Auburn ACHR office.
"Since we are a non-profit agency and we have many of the same missions at the university, we approached the architecture department with this project," she said. "We wanted some good-quality, affordable housing, but we wanted to incorporate some ideas about what our clients who would be living there would need."
"Bonnie came to us last fall looking for a unique design for low-cost housing," said Chris Calott, a visiting associate professor in the Department of Architecture and principal designer of the complex. "They had typical plans for this site, but if you look at public housing . . . virtually anywhere across the country . . . it's basically a cookie-cutter approach. It hasn't been re-thought for the past 20 years."
Calott's design -- with row-house-type units each with its own front porch -- employs some building features not common to the traditional eight-plex (four downstairs and four upstairs units per building) public housing plan.
"I've designed a row-house complex with 10 two-story units per building ," Calott said. "My objective was to come up with a design that would give residents a sense of community."
In addition to each unit having its own front porch, each also has its own roof and a central stairwell with skylight and front and rear entrance.
"Residents should feel more like it's their own home," Calott said of the individualized features.
Many Southern traditions also are incorporated into Calott's design.
"My students and I visited some 22 courthouse squares in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi," he said. "From those visits I decided on a plan in which a central square with a tree-lined boulevard replaces the large parking lot in typical public housing plans."
There also are two single-floor units specially designed for handicapped access and a community laundry facility.
"These are things not common in public housing," he added.
Calott's design is also intended to be energy efficient.
"By having front and back entrances, we can get through ventilation," Calott said. "Through ventilation is a southern (building) tradition that has been forgotten in public housing."
The through-ventilation feature also allows for a smaller air conditioning unit to be installed, Calott said.
"We were able to downsize the air-conditioning unit by 40 percent over what would be needed with a typical design," he explained.
Calott's design has attracted widespread interest.
"The DOE (Department of Energy) wants to do energy efficiency studies once the project is completed," Calott said. "The Montgomery Housing Authority also is interested in the plan, and Senator Howell Heflin has called me several times, after reviewing copies of drawings."
Rasmussen estimates that the complex will be complete and ready for occupancy by next fall. She adds that the association with AU in this project has been a good one.
"Auburn was involved from the beginning and we've shared a lot of ideas," Rasmussen said. "Our agency is looking forward to developing other similar opportunities with the university."
oct95:AU-housing
CONTACT: Calott, 224/844-4516.