The Catalog Home 

Approached to design a Zero Energy Ready Home for a local low-income family by the Watauga County chapter of Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina. The target construction cost for Habitat homes in the area is around $100k, offering an affordable mortgage payment for the selected family. Design goals for the home include Net Zero Ready, affordability, constructibility, and social connection between the stakeholders. By engaging in mutually beneficial relationships with Habitat for Humanity and several other local industry partners, Viable Habits plans to push the limits of what affordable housing can offer.

Our team, Viable Habits, settled on the Catalog Home design concept to justify meaningful interaction between the homeowners and Habitat for Humanity throughout the design stage, construction phase, and after the home is built. By doing this, we hope to make the homeowner an integral part of the process in order to provide a versatile architectural design that adapts to fit the homeowner's needs .

A private tract of land, named Greenwood Development, contains a total of 20.7 acres of wooded area committed solely to an affordable housing project. Viable Habits will design a 1,000 - 1,300 gsf, three bedroom, two bathroom home within the assigned lot. With a range of $90k - $110k, Viable Habits is approaching the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge with an integrated design method, full building systems analysis, affordable construction materials, Net Zero Ready building systems, while also focusing on appropriate design and cutting edge solutions that maximize comfort levels for the intended family.