Healthier Housing in Memphis: Sustainable Reconstruction

A young designer, builder, and real estate developer, born and raised in Memphis, invited us to collaborate on his vision to transform affordable workforce housing in Memphis to be energy-efficient, low-carbon, and healthier. Averell Mondie, co-founder of Hopscotch Construction and local architects Office of Basic Architecture (OOBA) have partnered in this pilot project to ignite systemic change in their city. He, and co-founder Aric Hotchkiss, aim to redefine perceptions of affordable housing among the new generation of young professionals, encouraging a reconsideration of affordable homes. 

The vision begins with one house - design and construction of a single-family home of approximately 1,442 sf designed to fit an existing slab.  OOBA and Hopscotch created preliminary design drawings and HML is conducting an initial assessment of the proposed material matrix. Our role is to recommend healthier building materials and methods, and consider cost, performance, toxicity, and carbon reduction for inclusion in the specifications. Our mutual interest is to identify and procure better products for as much of the building as possible. 

The partnership plans to use this initial pilot project home as a demonstration and apply the knowledge of building healthier to larger-scale developments, including multi-family homes. Through this collaboration, Hopscotch and OOBA will gain the tools and knowledge to achieve their goal of using healthier, low-carbon, materials and products for all future affordable housing projects. The ultimate goal is to inspire others in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta region to adopt healthier building practices, particularly for affordable housing.

Read all the project details here.