Prototype 03

URBANbuild is a design build studio in which teams of 11 students, led by professor Byron Mouton, take on the design and construction of a prototypical home for a neighborhood in New Orleans. URBANbuild’s partner in the development of these houses is Neighborhood Housing Services. This third URBANbuild studio took place in the fall of 2007 and the 15 week construction phase will take place during the spring semester of 2008. Prototype03’s design and construction is being documented by a film crew from the Sundance Channel.

URBANbuild’s third construction prototype is a study in compact housing for substandard lots. The scheme is two stories with a footprint of 25’ by 31’. The 1200 s.f. house is situated on an active corner in New Orlean’s Central City neighborhood and responds to this condition by stacking the more private sleeping spaces above the public living spaces. In form, the house is defined and sheltered by a 6” wall made of Structural Insulated Panels which snakes around expose the public spaces to a dialogue with the street while protecting the quieter bedrooms above. This third URBANbuild investigation will use SIPs (structural insulated panels) which might offer potentials for the development of affordable housing in New Orleans.

1900 Seventh St, New Orleans