Single Family Houses

Vancouver today is recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world as well as an international model for sustainability and urbanism. Single-family homes in this city are “a dying breed.” Most people live in the various low-rise and high-rise urban alternatives throughout the metropolitan area. The Death and Life of the Single-Family House explains how residents in Vancouver attempt to make themselves at home without a house. Local sociologist Nathanael Lauster has painstakingly studied the city’s dramatic transformation to curb sprawl. He tracks the history of housing and interviews residents about the cultural importance of the house as well as the urban problems it once appeared to solve. Although Vancouver’s built environment is unique, Lauster argues that it was never predestined by geography or demography. Instead, regulatory transformations enabled the city to renovate, build over, and build around the house. Moreover, he insists, there are lessons here for the rest of North America. We can start building our cities differently, and without sacrificing their livability.

Neither mass accomodation nor luxury villa, but an extraordinary variety of well designed middle-class family dwellings in Germany.

This new volume in the series Construction and Design Manual provides a substantial introduction to the topic - a comprehensive outline of this area of architecture history supported by some 20 examples and large-scale photographs by the internationally renowned architectural photographer Werner Huthmacher

As cities evolve architects are constantly searching for appropriate architectonic solutions, and in this book the authors present a systematic examination of innovative single-family houses and residential buildings in the context of presentday cities. The latest developments are reviewed in essays and thematic chapters discuss such topics as lowenergy building, the use of prefabricated materials, or low-budget building. A range of international examples from architects such as Wiel Arets, Shigeru Ban, Ben van Berkel, Kees Christiaanse, Philippe Gazeau, Frank O. Gehry, Steven Holl, Hans Kollhoff, Morger & Degelo, MVRDV, Jean Nouvel, Kas Oosterhuis, illustrate the subjects discussed. "Housing" and "Single-Family Housing" were previously published separately, each proving hugely popular. Now both volumes have been incorporated into a single, lowpriced edition.

This practical, real-world guide gives investors all the tools they need to make wise decisions when weighing the value and potential of investment properties. Written for old pros as well as novice investors, this friendly, straightforward guide walks readers step by step through every stage of property analysis. Whether you're buying or selling, investing in big commercial properties or single-family rentals, you'll find expert guidance and handy resources on every aspect of real estate finance, including: * Proven, effective valuation techniques * Finance tips for all different kinds of property * How various financing strategies affect investments * Structuring financial instruments, including leverage, debt, equity, and partnerships * Measurements and ratios for investment performance, including capitalization rates and gross rent multiplier ratios * Future and present value analysis * How the appraisal process works * Primary appraisal methods-replacement cost, sales comparison, and income capitalization-and how to know which one to use * How to understand financial statements, including income, balance, and cash flow * Case studies for single-family rentals, multifamily conversions, apartment complexes, and commercial office space * A detailed glossary of important real estate terminology

The private single family house is still very much the preferred choice of home. Yet in recent years there have been many changes not only in the personal situations of the residents, their expectations and desires, but also in the rising costs of energy and raw materials. This has meant that issues such as multi-functionalism, the use of innovative building materials or energy-efficient building methods are increasing in significance. In this completely revised and expanded second edition these topical developments have been taken into consideration. The organisation and layout of the first volume, with its concise and detailed project documentation, has been retained. The authors introduce floor plan solutions using contemporary projects which bear in mind changing family structures. At the same time, the contributions provide an in-depth introduction to planning single family houses, from the design of the floor plan to useful tips for the realisation. In addition to this fundamental information, 22 projects are documented, providing ideas and inspiration for planners, students and clients. The international selection of projects highlights current trends in planning and designing single family housing and reveals the tried and tested basics.

During the quarter century between 1945 and 1970, Americans crafted a new manner of living that shaped and reshaped how residential builders designed and marketed millions of detached single-family suburban houses. The modest two- and three-bedroom houses built immediately following the war gave way to larger and more sophisticated houses shaped by casual living, which stressed a family's easy sociability and material comfort and were a major element in the cohesion of a greatly expanded middle class. These dwellings became the basic building blocks of explosive suburban growth during the postwar period, luring families to the metropolitan periphery from both crowded urban centers and the rural hinterlands. Detached America is the first book with a national scope to explore the design and marketing of postwar houses. James A. Jacobs shows how these houses physically document national trends in domestic space and record a remarkably uniform spatial evolution that can be traced throughout the country. Favorable government policies, along with such widely available print media as trade journals, home design magazines, and newspapers, permitted builders to establish a strong national presence and to make a more standardized product available to prospective buyers everywhere. This vast and long-lived collaboration between government and business—fueled by millions of homeowners—established the financial mechanisms, consumer framework, domestic ideologies, and architectural precedents that permanently altered the geographic and demographic landscape of the nation.