Pittsburgh, PA

A 2,007-square-foot townhome + 660-square-foot full studio accessory dwelling unit (ADU) with an entry porch on the ground floor. The main home above has three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a flex space, entry porch, and covered deck. The homes are rentals, designed for a millennial demographic who seek a modern and sustainable living space that suits their active urban lifestyle.

The Housing Innovation Alliance is the development partner for this concept home and the driving force behind its measurable sustainability goals. These homes will have a 70% lower carbon footprint with less greenhouse gas emissions and 90% less construction waste than in typical new home construction. They will have healthier indoor air and cleaner water, and include high-performance energy management systems and materials that conserve resources and are resilient in the face of disaster. This will be achieved while focusing on market-rate attainability where housing affordability and energy and maintenance costs are a continually growing challenge.

These homes were designed to advance the livability of urban in-fill townhomes and provide renters with the same opportunity to enjoy private outdoor spaces more typical of for-sale homes, metaphorically “a picket fence.”  Dubbed a “townhome + 1,” The Picket Fence was designed to fit on a narrow lot and provide a large, covered deck facing the street, private entry for the main townhouse, and a fenced front yard and large porch for the “+1” ground floor studio.