Livable Low-carbon City

Two years ago, a German newspaper ran a piece hinting that Green Party Bundestag member Anton Hofreiter was calling for a ban on new single family homes. Hofreiter had not been calling for a ban on single family homes, but rather an end to subsidies that cater to sprawling detached single family homes, as well as the lower energy efficiency standards they were required to meet, compared to attached homes.
After this, the Wuestenrot Stiftung - a foundation focusing on arts, culture, education, and questions around the future - published criteria for a design award on future-oriented single family homes.

In this week’s episode, we’ll be talking about some of these projects, and what we believe the future of single family homes in the U.S. will be.
Further reading...
Catch Mike Eliason's piece on Seattle's single family zoning history on the Urbanist. Larch Lab's page on Baugruppen, with several links and examples.
Bauen im Luecke, a single family home slotted into an 11'-6" wide parcel between two buildings in a perimeter block in Koeln, by Wolfgang Zeh.
Alles Unter einem Dach - a 24 home family friendly, multigenerational, low energy mass timber baugruppe in rural Bayern, by Arc architekten.
Oosterwold co-living, a 9-unit baugruppe outside Almere, by Bureau SLA and ZakerMaker.
The Wuestenrot Stiftung's publication on the winners and entrants for the future-oriented single family home (pdf, German).

Lastly, to stay up to date with what Michael Eliason is doing at Larch Lab, be sure to sign up for newsletter updates.

A few months ago, Larch Lab was contacted to start discussions of an ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) focused on climate adaptive urbanism, influenced by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
With the effects of climate change becoming more frequent and intense than anticipated – we can no longer wait ten to twenty years to adapt to this new normal. Larch Lab believes we need an ARPA-esque project to facilitate the research and development necessary to rapidly roll out high performance, decarbonized buildings, ecodistricts, and cities.
This episode of the Livable Low-Carbon City is a download of themes and topics that we will be discussing in detail over the coming months...
Further reading...
Car-light Ecodistricts:
The 5 coolest trends in urbanism ... in Europe, Michael Eliason's guest op ed in Dave Roberts Volts Substack.
Let’s Build a Dense, Climate-Resilient EcoDistrict in Seattle’s Interbay, Michael Eliason's op-ed in the Urbanist.
Passivhaus:
What is a Passivhaus, the Passivhaus Trust's intro to the standard that should be the baseline of all buildings.
Seattle Must Require Public Buildings Meet Passivhaus Standards to Lead on Climate, Michael Eliason's op ed in the Urbanist.
Zoning reform:
The Impact of Upzoning on Housing Construction in Auckland, Ryan Freenaway-McGrevy and Peter C.B. Phillips paper on upzoning effects.
Upzone the Side Streets!, Henry Grabar's Slate piece on effects of focusing housing on arterials.
Building Code reform:
Unlocking livable, resilient, decarbonized housing
with Point Access Blocks, Larch Lab's report on Point Access Blocks for the City of Vancouver.
Beyond Zoning: Building Circulation Reform and Infill Housing, UCLA Lewis Center's roundtable on unit access and code reform.
Active Solar Protection/Climate Adaptive Buildings:
Throwing Shade at How Buildings Must Adapt to the Climate Crisis, Michael Eliason's in Treehugger on climate adaptive buildings.
Prefabrication & Robotics:
Energiesprong, the Dutch retrofit masters utilizing prefabricated exterior panels.
New forms of Collective Urban Housing:
Larch Lab's page on Baugruppen, self-developed urban multifamily housing.
Bring On the Clusterwohnungen, Michael Eliason's op-ed on cluster apartments.
Productive Cities:
Radical mix of uses incorporating production and industry in cities (Europan).
Sponge City/Blue Green Infrastructure:
ACEEE's report: Cool Policies for Cool Cities: Best Practices for Mitigating Urban Heat Islands in North

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have had fairly significant wildfire smoke for the last six weeks. For the most part, wind patterns have kept much of the Seattle Metro from experiencing the worst of it. That changed this week, as weather patterns shifted and the dense wildfire smoke cloaked our region for several days, thrusting both Seattle and Portland into the cities with the worst air quality globally.
Unfortunately, this pattern is likely to worsen as the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains continue to dry out. Due to their rugged, steep terrain and abundant fuel - fighting wildfires is going to be significantly different than on the dryer, and eastern slopes of the cascades. Containment and mitigation will be the main strategies in dealing with this smoke.
However, cities have not prepared for this new normal to the extent they should have, with studies predicting this very issue for decades. We already utilize public buildings for weather that is extremely warm or cold - the next logical step is to utilize public buildings as fresh air centers for smoke and air pollution events. The region has also added over a hundred thousand homes in just the last decade. Unfortunately, weak energy codes that failed to mandate Passivhaus only ensured that there was significant carbon lock-in with these, and an inability to adapt and mitigate climate change to the effect they could have.
Had we mandated Passivhaus levels of construction, with airtight buildings and fresh, filtered ventilation - many more of these buildings could adapt to these types of events, and ruggedized against an increasingly dangerous normal. We need climate leaders who will take these issues seriously, and act swiftly.
Further reading...
Passive House: Climate-Proofing Against Disease and Smoke, Hayley Cloona in Passive Buildings Canada.
Will blankets of wildfire smoke be our new seasonal normal?, via KUOW.
Inside the Bolt Creek Fire and the Newly Burning Forests of the Western Cascades, via Seattle Times.
US Northwest towns ‘woefully unprepared’ as fire risk grows, via the AP.
Managing Western Washington Wildfire Risk in a Changing Climate, report (pdf) via UW's Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
King County Wildfire Risk Reduction Strategy, report (pdf) via King County.
Passive House on the Frontlines: Wildfire Smoke & Indoor Air Quality, roundtable hosted by Passive House Accelerator.
Another Good Reason to Go Passivhaus: It Keeps the Smoke Out, Lloyd Alter over on Treehugger.
Lastly, to stay up to date with what Michael Eliason is doing at Larch Lab, be sure to sign up for newsletter updates.

Strike. Verb. A disaster, or other unwelcome phenomenon that suddenly occurs and has harmful or damaging effects on something.
Zoning has afflicted our cities - some might say even damaged them - through their lack of flexibility and sterility. A hundred years on, the experiment of zoning is a massive failure.
However, it doesn't have to be this way. Other countries don't even have single use zoning like single family zoning in the US... Many others have zoning that is dictated at the federal level.

In this week’s episode, we’ll be talking about the absurdity of zoning in the USA, and why other countries are able to see better outcomes in their versions of zoning.
Further reading...
Catch Mike Eliason's piece on Seattle's single family zoning history on the Urbanist. Larch Lab's page on Baugruppen, with several links and examples.
‘Cities across America Question Single Family Zoning,’ Emily Badger, New York Times.

‘Japanese Zoning,’ Simon Vallee, Urban Kchoze.
Lastly, to stay up to date with what Michael Eliason is doing at Larch Lab, be sure to sign up for newsletter updates.

Housing prices in the US are completely out of balance. Affordable housing is difficult to attain in entire metropolitan areas. There are few options for middle class households, and even fewer for working class residents.

We need a reset on the American dream.

From one that is sprawling, unaffordable, lonely, carbon intensive, and exclusive – to one that is community-oriented, multigenerational, family-friendly and sustainable. One that is inclusive and accessible. Perhaps most importantly, one that is climate-adaptive and resilient to events exacerbated by climate change: energy spikes, heat domes, cold snaps, and extended wildfire smoke events.

In this week’s episode, we’ll be talking about one solution that could provide a path towards boosting middle class housing opportunities: Baugruppen.

Further reading...
Catch Mike Eliason's 2014 series on Baugruppen over on the Urbanist. Larch Lab's page on Baugruppen, with several links and examples.
‘Baugruppen Communal Dwelling Sans Granola,’ Michael Eliason’s Ignite Seattle #33 video.

‘Don’t Call It A Commune: Inside Berlin’s Radical Cohousing Project,’ Metropolis.
‘Baugruppen: It’s a Cooperative Living Concept, and It’s Perfect for Boomers,’ Treehugger.

Nightingale Housing, Austrialian non-profit developing socially, financially and environmentally sustainable housing similar to Baugruppen.

‘I Want to Live in a Baugruppe,’ Dave Roberts summary of Baugruppen, for Grist.

Lastly, to stay up to date with what Michael Eliason is doing at Larch Lab, be sure to sign up for newsletter updates.