The Chicago bungalow of the 21st century might look nothing like the 20th-century design that’s come to define the city’s outer neighborhoods.
Nearly six months after the Chicago Housing Policy Task Force opened its “Disruptive Design” competition, three finalists have emerged with templates for an affordable, widely replicable cottage that can fill vacant lots across the city.
Architect Georgi Todorov and designer Petya Petrova’s “Urban Cabin,” architect Joel Huffman’s “Green Flex 600” and architect Greg Tamborino’s “Adaptable-House” will vie for the chance to work with Related Midwest fill two selected parcels in Bronzeville and West Humboldt Park by 2020. The three applicants, all based in Chicago, were chosen from a field of 130 international applicants.
The task force, which also includes Freddie Mac and non-profits like LISC and the Metropolitan Planning Council, set out to find a design for a house that could be mass produced for less than $200,000 per site. Each entry was required to include a “wealth-building component,” like a rentable second unit or a flexible work space.
The finalists will be awarded $10,000 each to refine their proposals before a winner is chosen later this year. [AIA Chicago] — Alex Nitkin