Babylon 19 Affordable Homes

We were tasked with designing a prototype for sustainable affordable single family housing by the Town of Babylon.  The result included both a ranch style and colonial inspired house that separates the public and private spaces visibly on both the inside and outside.  The homes are designed to meet LEED for Homes certification using SIP walls and roofs, an efficient use of space and energy, and durable finishes throughout.  

In order to create replicable affordable housing to be built throughout the Town of Babylon PCA created a pair of designs to be used on a number of sites throughout the town on abandoned or otherwise empty lots. Both designs provide affordability of construction as well as operation provided by the compact design, ample daylight, consolidation of systems and the ability to add future active solar systems.  

Both schemes have a large open plan for living that contains ample glazing for daylighting and offers the possibility for passive heating. Skylights provide additional daylight for circulations spaces in order to help minimize the need for electric lighting during the day.Additionally, durability measures, a highly efficient building envelope, carefully selected materials, and a right sized HVAC help the homes achieve a minimum Silver level certification under the LEED for Homes rating system.

The single story ranch is easily adaptable to be fully ADA accessible. The cathedral ceiling of the public space helps passively ventilate that space and serves as a separation from the private spaces beyond. Meanwhile the two story colonial offers a more traditional arrangement with private spaces on the upper floor. Operable windows above the stair provides the opportunity to passively cool the space during milder times of the year.

Architect:  Peter Caradonna Architecture and Planning 

afa:  Schematic Design, Design Development,  

Year Completed:  unbuilt