Tom Low
Tom Low is director of Civic By Design and a registered architect and certified planner based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has completed more than 150 multiday design charrettes and directed numerous award winning new urbanism neighborhood projects. He is the author of the Light Imprint Handbook.
Build as if daylight were your first light
"Build as if daylight were your first light, and artificial light was reserved for the night. The windows you’ll add will also be great for cross ventilation in warmer months. And everything in rooms with light on two sides (including the people)...
Retreats, eco-villages, and walkable communities
A retreat is often used in real estate marketing to describe anything from a gated suburban resort subdivision to enclaves and eco-villages. Ideally, a new urbanist neo-traditional version includes the same fundamental principles of villages and...
Pocket court porchview
This is the front porch view for the Jacob's Pocket Court neighborhood, a new extension of the Village of Cheshire in Black Mountain North Carolina. The 10-foot deep porch on this cottage faces a small oval–shaped green. The watercolor rendering...


