• About Us
    • — About Digitized House
    • — Advertise
    • — Editorial Guidelines
  • Policies
    • — Ad Policy
    • — Privacy Policy
    • — Cookie Policy (US)
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
No Result
View All Result
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
No Result
View All Result
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
No Result
View All Result
Home Architecture

Design lives large in this small Alley Flat home

Tom Kolnowski by Tom Kolnowski
17 November 2016
in Architecture, Design, Green Building, Healthy Home, Sustainable Home
Reading Time: 2min read
Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This metal-skinned home measures only 850 square feet, yet lives large for the Austin, Texas, family it was designed for. A joint project by the Austin Community Design and Development Center (ACDDC) and Z Works Design Build, the home is architected and constructed with a high regard for green building science and sustainability practices to minimize the ongoing utility and maintenance costs.

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
As part of the The Alley Flat Initiative, this 850-square-foot home in Austin, Texas, was designed to be sited neatly along the property line and near the alley lane.

 

More Original Content FromDigitized House

Why You Should Put Down Your Digital Devices Before Bed

Digital Cul-de-Sac: IBSx Show Village Homes Go Virtual

6 Key Trends Transforming and Shaping Smart Cities in 2021 and Beyond

Recycling Outdated Consumer Electronics: A Comprehensive Guide

New Google Nest Thermostat Signifies Break From Nest App

The compact, two-story home has an unusual trapezoidal footprint that hugs the adjacent property line and alley lane, and takes maximum advantage of the limited area of the sloping infill site. The project is located on a property with an existing home, and is part of the The Alley Flat Initiative—a program that is designed to promote the construction of small, sustainable, and affordable secondary homes on parcels where less than 25-30% of the property is utilized. The program was born at the University of Texas School of Architecture in 2005, and has evolved into a collaboration between the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development (UTCSD), ACDDC, and the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC).

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
The stack effect: Due to the limited lot size, the home is designed around a two-story plan, a decision which also minimizes the cost and materials consumed in creation of the concrete foundation.

 

The home has its kitchen, dining, and living areas on the first floor, and is finished with a low-maintenance stained concrete floor surface. A light-filled open stairway—constructed from naturally-finished douglas fir wooden treads and plywood trim-out—leads to two bedrooms upstairs.

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
The central stairwell is finished out with douglas fir stair treads and plywood details, and benefits from natural daylighting above and below.

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
Light and airy: This bedroom feels larger than it is due to judicious daylighting and a vaulted ceiling, nicely trimmed with exposed wood beams.

 

In keeping with the sustainability posture, the home has a high-efficiency HVAC system for efficient cooling during the hot Austin summers, and benefits from a large heritage oak tree that partially shades the home from direct afternoon sunlight. Large, operable windows on the first floor enable filtered daylighting and are positioned to promote passive cooling on days when temperatures are moderate.

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build
In this view from the alley lane, the large oak tree on the left reduces HVAC cooling load during the hot Texas summers, yet enables the delivery of filtered daylighting into the living areas.

 

An efficient hybrid heat-pump hot water system is centrally located to minimize the length of water line plumbing, a design decision enabled by the location of the home’s 2 1/2 baths: The first-floor bath is located directly beneath the second-floor baths.

The home is not currently fitted with solar panels, but is solar-ready with a standing-seam Galvalume metal roof, its reflective surfaces optimally oriented to facilitate high energy production on sunny days.

 

Alley Flat Initiative and Z Works Design Build

 

More info about this topic:

The Alley Flat Initiative

Architect: Austin Community Design and Development Center (Richard MacMath, Project Architect; Nicole Joslin, Director)

Builder: Z Works Design Build Inc. (Khairuz Zaman, AIA)

Digitized.House Magazine

Tags: Austindesignenergyenvironmentgreen energyhealthful practiceshome and gardenhomesmodern architecturenon-affiliatesmall homes
Previous Post

10 questions when choosing a green builder

Next Post

Nest Cam Outdoor: Home security time machine

Tom Kolnowski

Tom Kolnowski

Tom Kolnowski is the Chief Content Officer & Founder of Digitized House Media, LLC, the publisher of Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home. When he isn’t writing about smart home technology, sustainability, and high-performance architecture, you’ll find him exploring faraway destinations with his family.

Related Posts

Image: Onur Binay on Unsplash.
Healthy Home

Why You Should Put Down Your Digital Devices Before Bed

23 February 2021

Many people have a basic understanding around how using a digital device just before bed can impact getting a good...

Image: Woodley Architectural Group and Professional Builder.
Design

Digital Cul-de-Sac: IBSx Show Village Homes Go Virtual

6 February 2021

For anyone attending pre-2021 NAHB International Builders' Shows, the sheer magnitude of the event has always been overwhelming. For 2021,...

Image: Tumisu from Pixabay.
Futures

6 Key Trends Transforming and Shaping Smart Cities in 2021 and Beyond

26 January 2021

Ever since the surge of smart home technology began, everyone knew this novel tech trend would have a profound impact...

Next Post

Nest Cam Outdoor: Home security time machine

Rapid Reads: Awning addiction

Antolini Shellstone Collection Rainbow Opale

Product Brief: Antolini Shellstone Collection

As an Amazon Associate, Digitized House may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links, ads, or buttons on this page. See our full Affiliate Link, Sponsorship, and Ad Policy.

More from Digitized House

Why You Should Put Down Your Digital Devices Before Bed

Digital Cul-de-Sac: IBSx Show Village Homes Go Virtual

Savvy Planning for Smart Home Investing

6 Key Trends Transforming and Shaping Smart Cities in 2021 and Beyond

CES 2021 Connected Home Highlights from the All-Digital Event

Wasserstein 3-in-1 Floodlight with Ring Charger Review

Recycling Outdated Consumer Electronics: A Comprehensive Guide

Our Holiday 2020 Gift Guide: Top Buys, Sure Bets

Infographic: Best Ways to Secure Your Holiday Tech

Infographic: What Amenities Do Homeowners Value the Most?

About Us

Digitized House is the Guide to the Connected Home.

We help global consumers make their 
Connected Homes smarter, healthier, safer, and 
more sustainable through streams of original content. You can see our story here.

Like what you see on this website? You can also read us on our Apple News App Channel.

More Info

  • About Us
    • — About Digitized House
    • — Advertise
    • — Editorial Guidelines
  • Policies
    • — Ad Policy
    • — Privacy Policy
    • — Cookie Policy (US)

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, Digitized House may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links, ads, or buttons on this page. See our full Affiliate Link, Sponsorship, and Ad Policy.

Recent Content

Image: Onur Binay on Unsplash.

Why You Should Put Down Your Digital Devices Before Bed

23 February 2021
Image: Woodley Architectural Group and Professional Builder.

Digital Cul-de-Sac: IBSx Show Village Homes Go Virtual

6 February 2021
Savvy smart home investing entails picking the right accessories to add function and value. Image: Digitized House.

Savvy Planning for Smart Home Investing

5 February 2021

© 2015-2020 Digitized House Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
  • About Us + Policies
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Ad Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy (US)

© 2015-2020 Digitized House Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.