A custom home is tailored to fit the clients’ program as well as to maximize a site’s best attributes and mitigate its limitations—all while respecting surrounding context. When the context is an urban neighborhood with other buildings often just a few feet away, architects and builders face certain challenges, but they also gain advantages.
Architect Andrew Parks frequently designs infill projects for Memphis-based architecture collective Archimania. Each project starts with strategizing how a client’s program works best on the site, and every building is based on those parameters. “While we approach each custom home from scratch,” he says, “going through an investigative process for each site and each client to find out what the constraints will be, [we’re also] learning from previous projects.”
For urban infill work, those constraints may include tearing down existing structures without disturbing adjacent homes, ensuring there is space for materials staging, strategically scheduling subcontractors, and designing a floor plan that provides some privacy—especially for outdoor spaces—without impeding natural light.
According to builder and architect Page Repp, president of Repp + McLain Design and Construction, in Tucson, Ariz., “scheduling for urban infill sites is particularly challenging because you have to be exact in terms of one thing finishing before scheduling the next. And now with supply chain shortages, it’s even trickier.”
But building in urban areas offers advantages, too. According to Darren Lloyd, associate principal at MossArchitects, in Pittsburgh, “infrastructure is already in place, so site development costs stay low and it’s close to most subs and suppliers, plus clients don’t need to drive as much because they can walk everywhere.”
Turning Into Infill in East Memphis
Related Stories
Customer Service
A Smart Home Built Smart
Custom builder August Homes blends efficient, hi-tech home automation systems with high-performance, sustainable building strategies.
Case Studies
New Pandemic Task Force to Enhance Building Safety
A soon-to-be-appointed Pandemic Task Force seeks to strengthen the built environment in the face of disease-related threats
New Home
Hosting Multiple Generations for Generations to Come
Despite juggling numerous program and site considerations, architect Joel Wenzel designed a long-lasting, multi-generational retreat that nestles seamlessly into its bucolic surroundings
Custom Builder
Trading in the Man Cave for a Music Room in The House That Blues Built
Fourth-generation custom builder Albert Cummings splits his time between the world of residential construction and the music industry, so it only makes sense that his personal home includes a customized music room
Custom Builder
Merging Ancient Construction With Modern Living
This vacation home pushes the boundaries of traditional log construction techniques and incorporates elegant details elevating this typically rustic building method
Custom Builder
Making a Home Among the Redwoods
Designing a not-cramped-feeling, three-bedroom home on a tight lot surrounded by protected redwoods was no easy task. But through high ceilings, abundant glazing, and thoughtful spatial detailing, architect Heidi Richardson achieved the improbable.
Custom Builder
A Historical Fix on a Modern Foursquare
The Foursquare is an American architectural staple, but modern building has removed some of its historic details. Restoration expert Brent Hull uses a hypothetical redesign to illustrate the point
Case Studies
Building a ‘Happy Place’ on Florida’s Waterfront
Designing and building a custom waterfront home requires experience, expertise, and a good team—which is exactly what this client got
Case Studies
A Pittsburgh Rowhouse With a View
Working mostly within the city limits but in a variety of neighborhoods on different building types, architect Darren Lloyd says every project is instructive for projects that follow, regardless of type.
Case Studies
Tuning Into Infill in East Memphis
Memphis-based Archimania is intent on using good design to improve the city.