A cedar home by Yale architects offers unique take on affordable housing

The home operates on a “multi-functional core”

Yale's Jim Vlock Building Project
Yale's Jim Vlock Building Project

Graduate students at the Yale School of Architecture have unveiled contemporary, wooden home that they claim could be a solution for low-income neighborhoods.

Part of the school’s Jim Vlock Building Project – a program focused on low-cost homes in low-income areas of New Haven – the 1,000-square-foot house located in New Haven’s West River district is based on the idea of a multi-functional core, according to Dezeen.

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“The core is efficient, consolidating stairs and utilities to leave the remainder of space open, gracious and able to connect to the site,” Yale said in a statement.

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The “core” of the house is a wooden box at the center of the home that shields the kitchen and living room from a highly exposed street corner, according to Dezeen.

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“The density of the ground floor is flung to the perimeter of the house on the upper floor, creating a thickness to hold furniture and fixtures for bedrooms and bath,” the school said. [Dezeen]Christopher Cameron