• Accessory commercial units as affordable space

    ACUs can bring down the price of a locating a nascent enterprise by an order of magnitude, making business creation accessible to people who come from backgrounds that have been subject to repression, oppression, or other economic disadvantage.
    Note: This is the second of a two-part series exploring Accessory Commercial Units (ACUs), business spaces that attach to residential units, often in largely residential neighborhoods, and how they fit into the toolkit of Incremental Urbanism. See Part 1 . Affordable commercial space is not...Read more

  • ‘Green streets,’ gentle density in a new studio town

    Trilith in Fayetteville, Georgia, is built around the idea that well-designed public space contributes to individual happiness and community well-being. Lew Oliver Inc. won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category.
    Trilith is inspired by the words of Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia: “Great public space is a kind of magical good. It never ceases to yield happiness. It is almost happiness itself.” With that idea in mind, each part of Trilith is intended to connect to the whole community and...Read more

  • Enhancing city life while preparing for climate change

    Hammetts Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island, is an urban asset that protects and connects the city at the water’s edge. Union Studio Architecture & Community Design won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Block, Street, and Building category.
    This 24,000-square-foot mixed-use building shows how to respect and enhance a 19 th Century city while preparing for the impacts of climate change in the 21 st Century. Hammetts Wharf took a hole in the urban fabric—a parking lot on Newport’s waterfront—and created an urban asset that connects the...Read more

  • Elegantly defining the street and public realm

    Bonéval in Washington, DC, perfectly fits the historic neighborhood with lovely and durable details. Torti Gallas + Partners won a 2021 CNU Charter Award in the Block, Street, and Building category.
    The elegant Bonéval, a mid-sized condominium building designed in two parts, fits perfectly into the surrounding, historic, Capitol Hill neighborhood of the District of Columbia. The 40-unit project, which includes five affordable units, replaces a monolithic 1960s building, recently used as a...Read more