Architecture and town planning firm Torti Gallas/CHK and

Architecture and town planning firm Torti Gallas/CHK and national builder Beazer Homes are collaborating to bring the economics of production building to Hope VI public housing redevelopments in Washington, DC, and Baltimore. In Washington’s Frederick Douglass-Stanton Dwellings, Torti Gallas has chosen appropriate floor plans from Beazer’s predominantly suburban portfolio and designed new facades befitting the urban context. The result is that the developers can offer residents three-bedroom homes at about 1,700 square feet — about 25 percent larger than what would have been possible if Torti Gallas had designed the homes from scratch, says architect Marc Wouters. Beazer and Torti Gallas are also working together in Flaghouse Courts, a Baltimore Hope VI project scheduled to begin construction next spring.