Tackling the Urban Housing Crisis: The Rise of ADUs as a Solution
The urban housing crisis is becoming more intense as home prices skyrocket, far outpacing wage growth. For many in younger generations, homeownership feels more like a distant dream than a future reality. As cities evolve, communities are facing dual challenges: gentrification and densification. These pressures often displace long-term residents and make affordable housing harder to come by. The ever-growing wealth gap is compounded by the increasing cost of housing, which leaves little room for people to save for the future.
In response, many local governments have begun to explore innovative solutions, one of which is the rise of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). These secondary units, often referred to as mother-in-law suites, backyard cottages, or guest houses, are smaller living spaces built on the same lot as a primary residence. ADUs come in many forms: they can be new buildings, garage conversions, basement units, or even additions to existing homes. In some cases, homeowners opt for Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs), which are standalone structures separate from the main house.
ADUs and DADUs usually cap out at around 1,000 square feet, but regulations vary depending on location. Despite their modest size, these units offer a powerful way to address the housing crisis while also increasing flexibility for homeowners.
How ADUs Help Solve the Housing Shortage
For starters ADUs allow homeowners to directly contribute to increasing the housing supply. In markets where demand is far outstripping supply, adding these units helps relieve some of the pressure and offers a more affordable option for renters. With housing prices soaring in many urban centers, the ability to provide an extra living space on an existing lot can make a big difference.
One of the key benefits of ADUs is that they allow cities to grow sustainably without the need for large, expensive apartment developments. By adding more units in already-established low-density neighborhoods, ADUs help increase population density without dramatically changing the community’s character. This keeps neighborhoods vibrant and diverse, while also making housing more accessible for people from all walks of life.
A Flexible, Future-Proof Housing Solution:
Beyond increasing housing supply and affordability, ADUs offer homeowners another major advantage: flexibility. These units can serve a wide variety of purposes, from housing an aging family member to generating rental income that supplements household budgets. ADUs are a long-term solution that adapts to changing socio-economic conditions, providing security and resilience.
As cities continue to face growing challenges around housing affordability, ADUs represent a smart, forward-thinking solution. They allow homeowners to make the most of their property while helping communities address both current and future housing needs. In the face of rising prices and limited supply, ADUs provides a practical way to grow cities sustainably and offers more affordable options for those in need.
ADUs in Utah: Designing with Regionalism
When designing prototype ADUs without a specific site, the challenge was for them to be able to adapt to any site in Utah.
There were three main drivers of design decisions in this process:
Life Safety
Human comfort
Region and Resilience
Life safety is always a driver of design decisions in buildings, and it is no different for an ADU. Each bedroom, for example, needed an operable window that could function as an escape in the event of a fire.
Human comfort informed the design in different ways. Avoiding doors that swing out into narrow hallways and making sure the entries to the ADUs accommodated a reasonable approach, as well as keeping everything on one level, are all decisions that allow these designs to function for a diverse array of human spatial comfort.
Operable windows are also a human comfort consideration, as they can allow for natural cross ventilation depending on configuration and layout of the space. Allowing for as much natural light as possible by also incorporating higher, clerestory windows is not only going to help these units save on lighting energy costs, but is yet another way to improve human comfort in the space.
Region determined that we had to think about snowfall, drainage, heights of windows above the ground in terms of snow accumulation and moisture potential. Creating a resilient space in this region also means that we are looking at ways that these units can rely on the natural conditions of the region and be less dependent on the grid. We like to have roofs with enough space to incorporate solar panels, and slopes that would be easy to collect rainwater from.
In short, ADUs aren’t just a trend, they’re a vital tool in creating more livable, inclusive, and economically vibrant cities. For site specific designs, contact us and let’s collaborate!
