The 99K House
This was an interesting idea: a contest to create a small, innovative, “green” house that can be produced for less than 99K.
From the website, the contestants should submit plans for
a single family house with up to 1,400 SF, including 3 bedrooms and 1½ - 2 bathrooms, on a 50′ x 100′ site in Houston’s historic Fifth Ward. The winning design should be adaptable to a variety of sites in the area, including 33′ x 90′ lots and 40′ x 100′ lots
This particular neighborhood was selected because it has fallen into decay in recent years and the competition organizers hope that by building affordable, sustainable housing the area can be revitalized.
The 99K budget includes builder’s overhead and profit, all appliances, hardware, and finishes, and any additional engineering or architectural fees. Logically, hard construction costs of materials and labor should be in the range of $75,000. The $99,000 construction limit must include construction costs, financing, closing costs, commissions, overhead, and profit. The actual construction budget in the Houston area will be approximately $75,000. The lot and infrastructure are not included in this figure.
So the 99K house is the cost to build the house, not what the house would be sold for to the public.
There were 185 entries into the contest. This is the winning entry
The part that I like the best about the design are the water conservation ideas outlined here:
We have been thinking of installing a couple water barrels on our downspouts to use for irrigating our lawn and garden, certainly nothing as elaborate as two story cisterns attached to the side of the building as in this design. But I think that is a fabulous idea and one that makes you wonder why more people are not doing something like this.
The area that I don’t think this design works is the passive cooling system. In a hot and humid area like Houston, air conditioning seems like it is a necessary item. Where I live in New England, air conditioning is not a necessity. We don’t have it. Our older home stays remarkably cool due to window placement, porches that shade the sunny side of the house, and large windows for cross ventilation. However, the number of days that the temperatures top 95 degrees every summer can be counted on one hand. Apparently the the competition judges don’t agree with me.
Construction has now begun on the project. It will be interesting to see the design through its building phases.
