Independent Design

06/03/2025

Hat tip to R John Anderson. 2br 2ba with locking door and a hell of a wet bar. We need missing middle housing!

When I propose one bedroom cottages in cottage courts or as ADUs my recommendations are met with a lot of skepticism. Just because other people are not building something, does not mean there is no market for something different.

From the census data in every market I have looked at there are lots of one person households.

So my latest advice to a couple of emerging developers building cottage courts for rent is to build some 2 bedroom/2bath units, each with a lockout guest suite with its own exterior door.

One unit gets a full kitchen the the second gets a heck of a wet bar. There is only one Dwelling Unit, but two rentable spaces. This approach addresses the concern that maybe nobody wanting to lease a one bedroom unit since nobody is building free standing one bedroom cottages.

In 2020, 27.6% of occupied U.S. households had one person living alone, about 20 percentage points higher than in 1940.

02/06/2025

We are pleased to announce our submission to the Monadnock Region ADU Design Challenge for a Garage and Workshop ADU in Keene, NH. Our hope is that this design can be locally approved in advance by municipalities as a detached Accessory Dwelling Unit to streamline permitting and build much needed housing faster.

01/25/2025

Evergreen post on Julia Morgan - a trailblazing architect and personal hero.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/186LMNjs1i/

"Architect Julia Morgan, who was born [this week] in 1872, is often remembered as one of the first great American female architects. She was the first woman to be licensed as an architect in California and designed over 700 buildings in 50 years. She was also one of the first women to study civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1897, Morgan became the first woman admitted to Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a prestigious architecture school. Some of her most notable works are the Hearst Castle, Asilomar YWCA, and the St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley. In 2014, Morgan became the first woman to receive The American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal." -- via the National Women's History Museum

For adult readers interested in learning about her life and legacy, we recommend "Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty" (https://amzn.to/3KuzBGb) and "Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect" (https://amzn.to/3KsgD2F)

She is also one of 22 trailblazing female architects and builders featured in the excellent “Women of Steel and Stone,” recommended for teens and adults alike, ages 12 and up, at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-of-steel-and-stone

Julia Morgan is also featured in the fascinating book for adults: "The Women Who Changed Architecture" at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-who-changed-architecture

For fun ways to inspire the builders of tomorrow, visit our blog post: “Building Her Dreams: 60 Building and Engineering Toys for Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10430

And for several inspiring picture books starring real-life women who love to design and build, we recommend "Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer" (https://www.amightygirl.com/classified-mary-golda-ross), "The Girl Who Could Fix Anything" (https://www.amightygirl.com/girl-fix-anything-beatrice-shilling), and "Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge" (https://www.amightygirl.com/secret-engineer), all for ages 5 to 9

05/23/2024

We believe that there must be a balance between tax rates and restricting property rights. If I need to rent a room in my home to pay the bills, that shouldn't be prohibited.

05/14/2024

Career meld, obviously.

04/21/2024

03/17/2024

I've always wanted a simple How To guide. Equal opportunities for all buildings, and I'm always in the market for a quality building date.

11/03/2023

Grooving has disappeared from our design vernacular. And we are worse off without it.

10/29/2023

Phew 👀🤣💯

09/23/2023

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cv5xmf4pc_l/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

09/22/2023

We are going to file this one under "things we didn't know existed"...