”Affordability restrictions are set to expire on more than 250,000 multifamily units across the country” and “unsubsidized affordable rental housing continues to decline,” notes the U.S. Department of Energy. These facts, in addition to stagnant salaries and rising rental prices, has made affordable multifamily housing an area of concern for developers, architects, designers, communities, and potential residents alike.

This course seeks to provide specifiers with strategies to design sustainable, affordable multifamily housing by understanding code basics, leveraging zoning laws, and considering material durability. A case study examining the potential of affordable multifamily housing projects to become Living Building Challenge certified will also be examined.


Learning Objectives

  • Trace the history of building codes in the U.S., understand basic code differences between residential and multifamily housing, and recognize major changes to the 2018 IBC regarding multifamily housing.
  • Recognize zoning distinctions and analyze the ways in which zoning might be leveraged to provide affordable multifamily housing, including upzoning and the missing middle.
  • Assess sustainable, affordable design strategies for multifamily housing in urban areas.
  • Examine how to specify budget-conscious, aesthetically pleasing, durable materials for affordable multifamily housing projects.

Pre-requisite: Basic knowledge of community development best practices.