By taking advantage of economies of scale, a Houston native and a pair of mod-minded developers team up to create nine affordable row houses in the Houston Heights.

Resident Brian Whitlock saved some serious cash by taking on much of the construction and electrical work himself.

Their tenants include veterinary student Leslie Carter and intern architect Brad Raines.

Tina and Matthew Ford, here with daughter Daisy, are the owners of Shade House Development, the company that designed and is building the suite of houses that comprise Row on 25th in Houston, Texas.

The series of pitched white buildings was inspired by the work of architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen. “The shell of the house is a very simple form,” says Matthew Ford, “no turns or intersecting roof sections. This allowed me to use solid but inexpensive framing and roofing crews. We are always looking for the point where simplicity and luxury meet.”

The development's four distinct yet interconnected volumes share a garden.

The master bedroom in Holden Shannon’s unit in Houston’s Row on 25th development features a Nook bed from Blu Dot, a pair of Base table lights by Tom Dixon, and a painting by artist Elva Stewart.

Interior designer Laura Britt followed WELL Building Standards to source the home’s non-toxic furnishings and finishes, which include living room chairs and a sofa from Thayer Coggin that use flame retardant– and formaldehyde-free cushions.

A small, single-story addition to the row house adds a playroom without eating up too much outdoor space. A green roof also helps makes up for lost garden beds, while creating attractive, leafy views from the second and third floors. In summer, when the sliding doors are left wide open, indoor and outdoor spaces blend together.

Texas. The Cricket Trailer, made in Houston, can sleep up to two adults and two children. With integrated fresh water and greywater tanks along with a water heater, campers can live off-the-grid in the easily towable unit.

Cubicco’s prefab houses, like the Cabana Beach model, are built with laminated veneer lumber, an engineered material that uses up to 90 percent of a tree—compared to typical wood timbers that use only 60 to 70 percent. Modules can be disassembled if the owners relocate.

The buildings are designed to eventually house a shower, sleeping quarters, and a community space, and shelter two people comfortably. "I remember watching TV after Katrina, and everyone was so exposed," says Nicholson. "Creating privacy and community with these temporary structures would be simple and easy to deploy. We could put these all over the world."

The building's mechanical systems, which include a solar inverter and a rain harvesting system, are tucked away on one side.

Carole Nicholson of Allsteel conceptualized temporary emergency and disaster housing made from recycled cubicle panels that would otherwise be headed for the landfill. The first incarnation was built at Hermann Park in Houston, with help from graduate students and advisors from the nearby Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.

Atop the 4,000-pound structure is a butterfly roof made from galvanized steel and recycled framing, and fitted with solar panels.

The ReFRAME structure is made up of modular expandable walls repurposed from cubicle frames and covered in clear and white panels with cutouts.

Tuned into its sylvan setting, this affordable green home in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a modern take on the surrounding centuries-old structures. The bright green paint on its facade contrasts with the Cor-Ten steel cladding.

In Hillsborough, North Carolina, local firm Tonic completed a modern home at a modest $155 per square foot. Its in-house team of skilled builders constructed the house and crafted the custom touches without subcontracing—a costly and common undertaking. They also reined in expenses by using readily available materials, like oak and steel. Though the home is nearly 800 square feet larger than their previous residence, the residents’ energy bills average 30 percent cheaper thanks to spray foam insulation, tightly sealed ducts to reduce drafts, low-e glazed windows, and Energy Star appliances. Photo by Richard Leo Johnson.

The master bathroom’s countertops are detailed with the same Carrara marble seen in the kitchen. The faucet and shower trims are by Kallista.

Multifamily Living: Kevin Daly Architects designed this 33-unit affordable housing complex in Santa Monica, California, with sustainable features including a green roof and windows with hoods that were shaped based on solar orientation studies.

Interior designer Laura Britt and architect Stephen Andrews took notes from WELL Building Standards—and their physician client—to craft a nurturing family residence that also protects against harsh weather.

Lehrer Architects developed three affordable housing prototypes for challenging infill lots in South Los Angeles. The project was completed in conjunction with Restore Neighborhoods L.A.

"Color simply and cost-effectively enriched and made the architectural idea palpable and pleasurable," Lehrer says about the prismatic theme. "It was used to explicitly articulate and dramatically enhance the circulation and spatial concepts. It helps make modest, but wonderful, spaces a little magical."

“Do you really like your building?” the Brook’s director, Paul Pavon, was asked by an acquaintance, who compared the appearance of the 90,000- square-foot supportive housing development in New York’s famously blighted South Bronx to that of the Tetris video game. Indeed he does: “If you walk around this neighborhood, not too many buildings look like this. So there’s some kind of pride when the tenants come home.”

"We believe luxury begins with massive natural light, fresh air, seamless indoor-outdoor living and viewing, and maximizing the longest intrasite viewshed," Lehrer says. "In other words, a view from one end of (even a small) a property to the other."

Exterior courtyards and patios allow the residents to enjoy outdoor living.

The houses, like the 53rd Street Prototype, feature lean and gracious walkways to the front door. "Though these prototypes are set in economically challenged neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, their design provides for integrated defensible space while maintaining openness and connection to the outdoors," states the project description.

“One of the goals of Zenkaya was to create employment in a country crippled by [an unemployment rate of over 25 percent],” explains the architect, who likes to call himself a social entrepreneur.

The long rectangular Field House abuts what Burnette describes as a “memory orchard,” a grove of fruit trees just beyond the deck that was planted in honor of Geller’s late father.

Row on 25th's floor plan.

The 53rd Street Prototype was built on a 40-foot-wide lot.

The 99th Street plan is shown here. "Layouts were driven by the most basic design principles: hyper-efficient floor plans that minimize circulation with singularly-located plumbing stacks," Lehrer says. "The roof slope and roof-site drainage was also made as simple as possible. The continuum of public to private space was carefully orchestrated."

Playing off the work of artist James Turrell, as well as the front porch scheme prevalent in the South, an outside living room of the Lewin House by Dencity is half covered and half open to the leaf canopy overhead. A pair of teak armchairs are clustered around a Laguna fire table from Restoration Hardware.

Author and French designer Daniel Rozensztroch's industrial loft was a 17th-century manufacturing plant in the Marais, a historic district that abuts the Bastille. A row of vintage iron cabinets, mostly recovered from doctors’ and dentists’ offices, separate the kitchen from the dining area. The Gervasoni table was designed by close friend Paola Navone. Architect Dominique Perrault and designer Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost are responsible for the the tubular pendants over the dining table, which resemble old subway lamps.