While we’re on the subject of affordable housing, let’s talk about sustainable design, for the two walk hand in hand. But first, let’s talk about American cheese.

Most would agree that American cheese, like toothpaste or tennis balls, is an affordable commodity. When we talk about affordable American cheese slices, we are talking about the relatively small amount of dollars required to acquire them at the American cheese store. The same holds true at the tennis ball…

In my first two entries on affordable housing, we looked at how the size of your house dramatically affects its cost. In this entry, we’ll go a step further and take a look at the role quality plays in the affordability equation.

“Quality” is one of those words, like “moist” or “lotion,” that make me cringe a bit. I don’t like the way it looks on the page, and I don’t like the way it feels coming out…

When it comes to building affordably, small is good. This much you know, because well-meaning but grumpy people such as myself have told you this. Fewer square feet mean fewer nickels you need to collect in order to build said square feet. Makes sense. Small is good, true, but you must be prudent, grasshopper: You don’t want to go too small. Too small is even worse (economically, functionally, spiritually) than too big. Going small for…

Guest writer Dan Maginn is a principal with el dorado inc, an architecture firm in Kansas City, Missouri. This four part series, “Square Feat,” will explore the myths and realities surrounding affordable housing.

I’m a relatively smart guy. I have read the opening pages of numerous Thomas Pynchon books, and have a working vocabulary of over 60 words—nearly half of them polysyllabic. As an architect and a citizen of these United States, “affordable” and “housing”…

While we’re on the subject of affordable housing, let’s talk about sustainable design, for the two walk hand in hand. But first, let’s talk about American cheese.

Most would agree that American cheese, like toothpaste or tennis balls, is an affordable commodity. When we talk about affordable American cheese slices, we are talking about the relatively small amount of dollars required to acquire them at the American cheese store. The same holds true at the tennis ball…

In my first two entries on affordable housing, we looked at how the size of your house dramatically affects its cost. In this entry, we’ll go a step further and take a look at the role quality plays in the affordability equation.

“Quality” is one of those words, like “moist” or “lotion,” that make me cringe a bit. I don’t like the way it looks on the page, and I don’t like the way it feels coming out…

When it comes to building affordably, small is good. This much you know, because well-meaning but grumpy people such as myself have told you this. Fewer square feet mean fewer nickels you need to collect in order to build said square feet. Makes sense. Small is good, true, but you must be prudent, grasshopper: You don’t want to go too small. Too small is even worse (economically, functionally, spiritually) than too big. Going small for…

Guest writer Dan Maginn is a principal with el dorado inc, an architecture firm in Kansas City, Missouri. This four part series, “Square Feat,” will explore the myths and realities surrounding affordable housing.

I’m a relatively smart guy. I have read the opening pages of numerous Thomas Pynchon books, and have a working vocabulary of over 60 words—nearly half of them polysyllabic. As an architect and a citizen of these United States, “affordable” and “housing”…