Affordable housing design doesn’t have to be boring

Earlier this year the American Institute of Architects and the Department of Housing and Urban Development selected four projects to receive 2014 AIA/HUD national awards for excellence in affordable housing design.

Curiously, all four projects receiving awards are in California.

What’s up with this? Is there something about California — its architects, developers, zoning regulations, building codes, housing market, climate — that we in Washington and elsewhere in the United States should know about?

Each AIA/HUD award represents one of four design categories: overall design excellence; design fostering community connections; design contributing to community revitalization; and design optimizing accessibility. ….