Neighborhoods for All: Expanding Housing Opportunity in Seattle's Single Family Zones
University of Washington associate professor and Seattle Planning Commission co-chair Rick Mohler FAIA and instructor Brad Khouri AIA present the results of their Neighborhoods for All graduate research studio and seminar.
Taught in collaboration with the Seattle Planning Commission and building on its Neighborhoods for All report, the courses are aimed at advancing progressive housing policy in Seattle.
Students reviewed the city’s recent history of explosive growth and the resulting housing crisis, exacerbated by a racist legacy of single-family zoning that reserves 70% of residentially zoned land for single family homes. This has yielded a dichotomy of housing types in which Seattle has an outsized percentage of detached suburban homes and large apartment buildings on arterial streets with very little in between.
The studio explored alternative housing typologies in six Seattle neighborhoods in contrast to the “one size fits all” mandate of single-family zoning. Students developed neighborhood and block level strategies in response to neighborhood morphology, existing housing stock, tree canopy, demographics, and displacement risk and then created housing projects focused on equity and homeownership. The studio results bolster the Planning Commission’s efforts to revise Seattle’s single-family zoning policy to be more inclusive and equitable in the 2024 update to Seattle’s comprehensive plan.
The studio and seminar received a 2021 ACSA/AIA Housing Design in Education Award.
Wednesday, September 8 | 5:00 – 6:30 pm | Online
Presenters
Bradley Khouri AIA
The founder of b9 architects, Bradley focuses on the intersection of education, policy, design innovation, sustainability and real estate development. b9 architects designs multifamily infill urban projects to enrich the community through walkable, vibrant density. Bradley develops multifamily infill urban projects as well and has served as a member of several AIA boards and task forces, including President of the Board of Directors, advocating for policies that encourage equitable urban policies focused on density and sustainability. He also teaches architectural design studios part-time at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments and serves on juries regularly.
Rick Mohler FAIA
Richard (Rick) Mohler, FAIA, NCARB is a licensed architect and Associate Professor of Architecture in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, where he teaches design studio and professional practice. He leverages synergies between his teaching, research, practice, and advocacy to promote just, policy-driven cities, shaped by principled design, and addressing all scales of urban experience while building connections between the academy, profession, government, and community.
Rick has over thirty-five years of experience in professional practice with over twenty-five years as a principal of his own firm. He has been recognized with over a dozen local and regional AIA design awards, in national and international urban design and housing competitions, and his professional work has been published extensively. He was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2021.
Rick is an effective advocate for housing affordability who writes and speaks frequently at AIA and ACSA national conferences and symposia and other venues. He is an Urban@UW Fellow, Affiliate Fellow of the UW Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, former co-chair of the AIA Seattle Public Policy Board, and co-chair of the Seattle Planning Commission.
