Congo Street Green Initiative

This is an interesting affordable/sustainable infill housing development  – similar to the Alley Flat Initiative (AFI) in Austin Texas.  This project is managed by buildingcommunity WORKSHOP, a not-for-profit community design center in Dallas, which has partnered with the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture, CDM AmeriCorps, and The Real Estate Council.  There is more information about this initiative on their blog: <http://bcw-congo.blogspot.com/>.  Below are some images from the house currently under construction at 4533 Congo Street.

What was interesting about the Congo Street Initiative is that the homes are being built around $50-60,000 per house (this doesn’t include soft costs, which probably adds to the cost 10-15%).  The construction labor is mostly through Americorps, which is estimated to be saving about $10,000 per project.

Besides the financial aspects, I was curious about the construction quality.  The homes built so far have achieved LEED (for Homes) Gold and Platinum certification.  My assumption is that it is similar to Austin Energy’s Green Building Program and it’s five star rating system, but I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison yet to see the differences/similarities.  The materials and building systems are typical for residential construction with the exception of increased insulation (spray foam + 2 in. rigid exterior foam).  The noticeable differences are in the details, which definitely sets this housing development apart from the typical cookie-cutter spec homes.  The homes are about 70% designed by the time construction begins and the typical project time-frame is approximately 4 months (design + construction).

In terms of design technology and communication workflows, BIM is not being utilized.  I’m in the process of finding out what the design process is like for these projects and how it compares to similar initiatives like the AFI.