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Monday we had a small group of 12 urban, non-commercial bloggers and guests come out to our office for a some victuals, some libations and some really great discussion. The topic we presented was our project on 4th and G, which is in its most formative phase. We wanted to test out some of our ideas on real people who appreciate and enjoy the urban life and wouldn’t be afraid to give real, honest feedback (thus, the blogging focus). We believe that the more collective thought around a project, especially from people who already connect with the eco-urban concept, the better the project will be.

From our perspective, the event was a huge success and we came away with some really good direction that we think will be really helpful in shaping this project.

If anyone is interested in being involved in discussions like this in the future (whether or not you have a blog), e-mail me at Jason at ljurban dot com.

Today, we’ll post what we presented with G316 and tomorrow, we’ll post the themes from our discussion and our post-meeting thoughts.

G316
The Vision
Our goal with this project is to introduce for-sale housing into the urban core at a more “accessible” price point than we currently see out there. As housing in the urban core continues to appreciate, more and more people are getting left out, which bothers us. We have two options to get the price down, both of which we intend to use.

1. Construction. We think there are ways to build quality, durable houses that cut construction costs by efficient design and by stripping away anything that’s superfluous. So, fewer walls = more open space and less costs. Likewise, incorporate exposed concrete floors eliminating the need for more lumber and/or carpet (which also becomes a green feature). Just a few examples. We’re envisioning open flats—in the European tradition; some with a bi-level mezzanine bedroom and others without. Ceiling heights range from 10-14 ft.
2. Smaller square footage. 600-800 sq. ft. units. Decreasing unit size is probably the simplest way to try and hit a more accessible price-point.

The Site
G316 is currently slated to be one building of attached flats running along G Street and cornering 4th Street. Parking is underneath the structure. Behind the structure is an open space that we originally were planning to house a community building facing 4th street and some green landscaping.

The Units
The Building runs along G Street and corners 4th street. As currently designed, it has two floors of flats. First floor flats are almost all 630 sq. ft. Those facing G Street are accessible by a stoop porch in the front and by a hallway in the back. Those facing the open space have a balcony. Second floor flats on G Street side are identical to the ones beneath (but with a balcony and no porch) and the ones facing the open space have a pop-up mezzanine, approximately 160 sq. ft with a garden terrace approximately 220 sq. ft.

So, tomorrow I’ll post the major themes discussed and our post-meeting thoughts. If you’d like to chime in before you hear what others said, we’d love for more input. If anyone who came to the meeting wants to add anything I seem to have missed, feel free to do so.

Jason