2016 Directory

22 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .16 | www.aia-wyoming.org A vi Friedman concluded the con- ference with a presentation open to the public about affordable housing around the world. In his research he traveled and learned from other cultures and societies about how to build more sustainable housing that is affordable to a wider population. The need for young people to have their own address meets the barrier of expensive price tag of homes in suburban communities. Mr. Friedman saw the evolution in affordable housing in planning, design, construction methods and finishes for the initial building as well as food, travel, energy and health that add to the cost of a home. He argued that homes with individual yards and a garage are not sustainable and affordable for most, and showed examples of more dense populated housing with incorporated mixed use units that provide communal spaces and an overall healthier and affordable environment. He talked about the need of innovative construction solutions; the traditional and time consuming 2x6 framing should be substituted with more efficient and standardized pre-fab- ricated units. What also needs to change is people’s attitude and expectations; family size went down from 3.67 in the 50s and 60s to 2.55 nowadays, but we continue to build big homes. According to Friedman, a new home should grow with the new family. Only the shell with basics should be initially provid- ed as a mayor cost saving and additional interior partitions and finishes could be added later. Friedman stressed the fact that long term cost of maintaining a home and being more sustainable in a world with depleting energy resources is equally important for well-being of people and creating affordable housing, and it is our responsibility to protect the world for future generations. b Public Events Hosted by AIA Wyoming Sponsored by the Wyoming Board of Architects and Landscape Architects BY AGNES KARDASZ, ASSOC. AIA