What can be done to reduce the cost of housing, particularly in the United States? To help answer this question, we will bring together a diverse mix of people involved with the design, development, financing, construction, and public oversight of housing for a half-day of presentations, discussions, and networking. The event, which will be open to practitioners, scholars, students and others, will be held on from 1-6:30 pm in Piper Auditorium at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It will be followed by an informal reception.

Designing More Affordable Housing

Andrew Freear, Director of Auburn University’s Rural Studio; current Loeb Fellow who has been developing prototypes for building inexpensive homes in poor rural areas.

Brian Phillips, Principal, ISA Architects, a firm based in Philadelphia and Cambridge whose portfolio includes 100K Houses and other efforts to produce small, well-designed, super-green residential units.

Michael Thomas, Director of Business Development, Panoramic Interests, a San Francisco Bay Area development firm that is focused on building supportive housing for the homeless, housing for students, seniors, artists, and others.

Moderator: Katie Swenson, VP, National Design Initiatives, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., who directs Enterprise’s Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute and its Rose Architectural Fellowship program.