Frugal frills

Residential Architect, Nov-Dec, 2002

for Berkeley, Calif., architect Erick Mikiten, AIA, affordable housing design is all about give and take. "You decide there are certain things that are worth doing, even though they're a little more expensive," he says. "You do them in an area where they will have a lot of impact." And you stick to the budget by finding a way to make up the extra cost elsewhere in the project.

In the case of his Bancroft Senior Homes, a 61-unit HUD-financed community for low-income seniors, Mikiten chose the three-story front entry as his "splurge" feature. Stickwork inspired by African Kuba weavings decorates the upper portion of the entry as it honors the African-American heritage of the Oakland, Calif., neighborhood. A standing-seam metal roof shields the first two stories; the roof channels rainwater onto two metal chains similar to ones used by local architectural hero Bernard Maybeck. The gently pitched roof and wood joinery recall the Craftsman and Japanese influences that hold such significant places in Bay Area architecture.

Mikiten compensated for the cost of the woodwork and metal roof by using asphalt shingles, compressed newspaper siding, and other inexpensive materials. Sixty of the 61 units have identical, stacked one-bedroom plans--a configuration that saves money by simplifying the building's plumbing and electrical structure.--m.d.