Going modern in Colorado

A new urbanist neighborhood throws away its architectural codes to promote contemporary designs. Prospect was the first new urbanist (NU) project to get off the ground in Colorado, and now it is breaking new ground nationally with its use of modernism in background, residential buildings. Modern single homes and townhomes in Prospect are now being built alongside traditional, Victorian, and craftsman homes. Currently, only about 20 percent of the homes in Prospect are modern. That percentage could go as high as 50 percent, according to Mark Sofield, town architect. The change in style has drawn some protests from early homebuyers, but has raised the media profile for the project. Furthermore, the houses are selling quickly, Sofield says. “I hope other TNDs [traditional neighborhood developments] will look at this, even from a commercial standpoint,” says Sofield. “It’s been a tremendous success.” Prospect is tapping into a market for modern housing that is not fulfilled by either conventional subdivisions or NU neighborhoods, Sofield says. This can be attributed to a hot housing market in the Front Range area of Colorado, with its emerging high-tech industry. Many of the new workers are young, from the east and west coasts, and looking for something different, he adds. The modern houses include a new row of townhouses, designed by Studio Completiva of Denver, featuring arc-shaped roofs and vibrant color schemes. About a half dozen modern single homes have been built or are under construction — some with shed or flat roofs, unusual angles, and changes of material on a vertical, rather than horizontal, axis. One house, by Hobbs Design of Boulder, has a “butterfly” roof and an asymmetric porch. Soon Randall Platt Associates will begin developing six Bauhaus-inspired live-work units. These 1,500-square-foot townhomes will sell in the $200,000 range and are designed as flexible space, with three 350-square-foot floors for all residential use, all business use, or any combination of the two. The units will serve as a transition from the mixed-use center to the residential areas. Strict urban design standards Even though Pros- pect’s architectural standards are no longer being followed in many cases, the urban design standards, which govern the placement of buildings and how they address the street, are being followed “religiously,” says Sofield. Setbacks and building envelopes are tightly controlled to maintain coherent streetscapes. Standards for elements that project outside of building envelopes, such as porches and stoops, are enforced. Garages are accessed from the rear alleys. “What is important is that the buildings still address the street with front porches and stoops,” Sofield explains. Most NU neighborhoods rely on traditional, vernacular, architecture. Often this is dictated by codes or pattern books. In Prospect’s case, the codes were drafted by the master planner, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company. The tendency toward traditional is based on the proven marketability of vernacular architecture and its ability to create attractive streetscapes. But it has turned off some architects. “This is a reason why a lot of talented designers have shied away from the New Urbanism — they feel hampered by the codes,” says Sofield. Developer Kiki Wallace, who owns the land outright, has taken a careful, slow approach to building Prospect, which he founded in 1995. As of the fall of 2000, 60 single homes, 14 townhomes, and four courtyard units had been built, and another 33 homes were under construction. Many of the detached garages feature accessory apartments. A 10,500-square-foot commercial building was completed, housing a coffee shop, offices, and apartments. When complete, Prospect will have 173 single homes, 61 townhomes, 28 courtyard homes, and 51 mixed-use and commercial properties. In faster-moving developments, especially those with production builders, architectural codes may be necessary to ensure a minimum aesthetic standard, Sofield acknowledges. “We can do what we are doing because I am here as a firewall, and the developer is willing to take the long view,” he says. Negotiating the architecture The architectural review has shifted from code enforcement to a process of negotiation. “I want to see what the designers present, and work with that,” he says. “What I really want is each building to be as good as it can be, on its own terms.” Although this is vague, it results in the most interesting buildings, Sofield explains. The bottom line is that every house, whether modern or traditional, is required to be true to its own style. If a Queen Ann house is proposed, the roof pitch would be steep (essentially meeting the original Prospect code calling for 10:12 or 12:12 pitches). For an Italianate house, the pitch would be less steep. Modern houses would have flat or gently pitched shed or butterfly roofs. The code also calls for material changes to occur on a horizontal axis — say, a stone base to a stucco upper story. Victorian houses still must meet these standards, but not the modern houses “which for compositional reasons may change materials on a vertical axis,” Sofield explains. A window of consistency Prospect’s traditional and modern homes are architecturally consistent in one regard — window detailing. “That’s the thing that we have latched onto — if the windows are consistent, the whole hangs together,” Sofield says. All homes, modern or traditional, must have windows with inside and outside muntins. Depending on the window manufacturer, this can be accomplished with true divided light or high quality simulated divided light. The reason is simple — Victorian style homes without muntins look like they have “replacement windows,” Sofield says. On the modern homes, a lack of muntins is not a problem in isolation, but in proximity to the traditional styles the change is jarring. Also, proportions of window to wall area and width to height are generally enforced for all homes, Sofield says. However, maintaining these standards does not mean that modern homes have windows that look traditional. In the case of the Studio Completiva townhomes, for example, the muntins are arranged in a nontraditional pattern. Most of the modern houses also have eaves. “Overhangs are very useful here because of the intense sun, snow, and rain,” Sofield explains. “A building without overhangs is hard to justify in a practical sense.” The Bauhaus-inspired live/work units, however, will have no eaves or cornices. “These are the first examples of live/work units here,” he says. “As a result we were easier on them than we were on the single family homes.” The developer has insisted that the designer add muntins to the windows, however, even though the initial design did not include them. “We’re trying to move away from reproduction styles, including reproduction modern styles,” says Sofield. “We’re trying to come up with a type that is specific to the climate, the builders, the materials, and the architects in this region.” Cutting costs with modernism One motivation for introducing modern architecture into Prospect was cost. Prospect maintains high standards in terms of design and materials, and is located in a pricey housing market. Some of the shingle-style houses were selling for $200/square foot. “The traditional designs got so expensive,” Sofield says. “One way to get costs down is to use a more modern design — the details are simpler.” The strategy has worked — to a degree. The modern houses are fetching about $170/square foot, which is still pretty high. That reflects the strong housing market, Sofield says. Not all residents are thrilled with the new direction, says developer Wallace. “We’ve had several vocal complaints from homeowners who thought the next house built would like just like theirs,” says Wallace. “In my mind, this controversy shows we are developing into a real community, where people hold strong opinions about where they live.”