We could pessimistically assert that there are no design trends for 2011 because nothing is getting built, but that would be exaggerating. New homes are still popping up in markets that have stabilized – just in more modest numbers, and not with the flamboyance and status-minded consumerism we saw during the housing boom. Today’s value set is more cerebral, focusing on simplicity, resourcefulness, health, community, and practicality. Here are some design themes we expect to see more of in the year ahead as America continues its search for a new normal.

The centerpiece of this serene bath designed by Austin, Texas-based architect Jay Corder is a natural marble slab serving as a tub backsplash on one side and a shower wall on the other. www.jaycorder.com
Credit: Paul Bardagjy
No Faux

Glitz is gone, at least for now. Honest architecture is the order of the day as homeowners look to simplify their lives – and, by association, their houses. This mantra of zen is playing out in interior spaces with natural finishes, clean lines, and few frivolous embellishments. On the outside the philosophy is being parlayed into elevations with uncomplicated massing. The plain box is enjoying a renaissance at a time when budgets are meager and value engineering is an exercise in survival. This basic geometry is easier and cheaper to frame, plumb, wire, clad, heat, cool, and maintain. And its pure form makes it less prone to crimes of bad proportion.

The “Sensible Series,” designed by D.W. Taylor Associates, addresses the downturn with a set of efficient house plans ranging from 1,560 to 2,400 square feet. Each home has a minimum of three bedrooms and 2 ½ baths. www.dwtaylor.com
Credit: DW Taylor Associates
Portion Control

Medium-sized house? No, wait. Make that a small, please. The average house lost a few pounds in the recession and is still managing to keep the weight off as buyers (and banks) avoid biting off more debt than they can chew. “Demand for very large houses over 4,000 square feet remains, but there is a diminishing demand for middle-sized homes,” observes architect Don Taylor of D.W. Taylor Associates in Ellicott City, Md. “Instead of the previously common request for a home in the 2,800- to 3,200-square-foot range, we are now seeing more requests for homes of 2,400 to 2,800 square feet. Cost obviously has helped precipitate this change, but I also think many buyers are coming to their senses and looking for homes that meet their practical needs rather than satisfying their egos.”

Smith & Fong Co., the makers of Plyboo, recently introduced new lines of FSC-certified bamboo plywood and flooring. Both formaldehyde-free products are made of bamboo strips that are compressed into a super-dense block, which is then made into planks and panels. www.plyboo.com
Credit: Dave Adams Photograpy
Fresh Ideas

Your vegetables are organic, but what about your cabinets? Health-conscious homeowners are starting to see their homes as part of the wellness equation, right in stride with exercise and eating right. “The farm-to-table movement has now entered the design sphere,” kitchen designers Mick De Giulio, Jamie Drake, and Matthew Quinn proclaimed in a recent kitchen trends report released by Sub-Zero and Wolf. Buyers will soon be paying more attention to healthy details such as low-VOC paints, stains, and sealants, they say, along with cabinets and furniture made with natural products such as hay, wheat, eucalyptus, bamboo, and aspen; HVAC systems that improve indoor air quality; and appliances that filter water. Tomorrow’s kitchens could also end up trading freezer space for larger refrigeration units to keep locally grown foods fresh.

Built on the site of a former naval air station, the Glen Town Center in Glenview, Illinois, blends 154 townhomes with two mixed-use buildings containing apartments and retail shops. www.theglentowncenter.com
Credit: Pappageorge/Haymes
Village Vibe

The suburbs are starting to feel more like little cities as planners and developers find ways to weave density and walkability into existing hot spots. “Fewer large-scale development opportunities have shifted the emphasis to smaller infill projects,” AIA chief economist Kermit Baker wrote in a recent design trends report. But these new nodes of “light urbanism” aren’t replacing existing subdivisions; they are popping up between them and connecting the dots. Prime targets for infill redevelopment include big box parking lots, dead shopping centers, strip malls, and transit stations. “People who want an urban lifestyle but either do not want to live in a ‘big city’ or cannot afford to will look to live in the many suburban town centers that have been emerging,” Urban Land Institute senior resident fellow John McIlwain wrote in a recent white paper.

Permeable pavers manage water runoff, control pollutants, and prevent erosion around this LEED-certified home by McDonald Construction & Development in Oakland, Calif. www.margaridohouse.com
Credit: Mariko Reed
Green Grows

Yes, we say it every year, but it’s true: green building is going mainstream. The latest anecdotal evidence comes by way of California’s CalGreen building code, which takes effect January 1, mandating many green building practices that were previously only voluntary. “I expect we’ll see an uptick in simple, low-cost approaches such as rainwater catchment, drought-tolerant landscaping, permeable hardscapes, passive solar design, and more recycling and landfill diversion,” says Mike McDonald, a green builder in Oakland, Calif. Watch also for more flat roofs with parapet walls hiding unsightly solar panels, predicts Costa Mesa, Calif.-based design consultant Miriam Tate.

Monday, 19 April 2010 10:05

The City of Fresno will decide Thursday whether to offer up funding as part of a Property and Business Improvement District proposed for downtown Fresno.

A petition drive was launched in October rallying property owners in the area to back an initiative that would levy an assessment to fund community improvements and other special services. Under state PBID law and the California Constitution, the Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) formation process first involves a petition by a majority of assessed property owners, and then a majority vote of the owners.

The drive is nearly at a majority support with recent major petitions submitted from the Holiday Inn Fresno Downtown Hotel and the Gottschalks Building. Current assessment for the district now total around $208,880.

The City Council's decision on Thursday will determine participation in the PBID on behalf of the City and the Fresno Redevelopment Agency. Together, the two make up the largest single bloc of votes at 15 percent of the total assessments for the PBID.

If it signs on, the annual assessment for the City's properties will be approximately $77,688, or 12.8 percent of the PBID's overall assessment budget of $607,291. Meanwhile the Redevelopment Agencies' assessment will be $15,631, or 2.6 percent of the total.

So far, the City of Fresno has lent $84,309 in City funds to support the PBID formation effort, which will be repayable upon the adoption of the district.

The Fresno City Council gave Ed Kashian and Tom Richards a green light today to proceed with the development of 95 acres in southeast Fresno that will become Fancher Creek Town Center.

The mixed commercial-residential development was approved unanimously by the council, which concluded that it is consistent with the 2025 Fresno General Plan and the Roosevelt Community Plan.

It will be located on Clovis Avenue, between Belmont and Kings Canyon avenues, and is just the beginning of a planned 500-acre community that will feature 1.2 million square feet of retail and office space in addition to at least 240 residential units.

However, two remaining sticking points remain — processing fees and the location and specifications of a transit station that the developers will construct.

The developers anticipate that construction will begin late this year or in early 2011 and that construction of the entire project will be done in phases.

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 March 2010 13:34

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