Habitat for Humanity Home in Kansas Channels Midcentury California

El Dorado's Habitat for Humanity prototype brings Eichler-esque style to the prairie.

It wasn't a stretch to bring California to Kansas City, according to architect Josh Shelton. When his firm El Dorado was chosen to design a Habitat for Humanity home, part of Public Architecture’s 1% for Habitat Initiative, his thoughts pivoted around the outdoors. While factoring in the cost and material constraints, Shelton also examined how design lessons drawn from more ideal climates could be applied to his own backyard. The results, as he explains, point to an affordable, more sustainable way to shape a home around outdoor space. "I was less interested in the traditional front and back yard," he says. "I was thinking about indoor and outdoor holistically, and how I could utilize those pivotal early spring and late fall moments."