Building authorities initially took a dim view of the project’s proposed sharp angles and mixed materials, which stood in high contrast to the surrounding beige stucco. The 17-unit, townhome-style Alan Apartments project in Mesa, Ariz., quickly leased out, once construction was completed in late 2018—but it took some doing to get its unique exterior past city planners.  “This project was made to stand out, and not look like all the boring beige houses around it—on purpose it doesn’t look like anything in the area,” says architect Tim Boyle, principal of Tim Boyle Design. “It was rejected by city staff five times because of how it looks, but we s

With affordable housing availability a problem in Hawaii, the state is incentivizing developers to tackle the issue. Hawaii’s cost of electricity for the residential sector is the highest in the nation—currently 2.5 times the national average—so it can be heavy burden on households that are already struggling.When developer Timothy Yi, President of Samkoo Pacific & Samkoo Hawaii, set out to build the 45-story Kapiolani Residence in Honolulu, Hawaii, he wanted to provide an affordable housing option with enhanced functionality and modern design. And part of its affordability had to be keeping utility costs low for residents as well.

Minnesota is hitting new heights when it comes to green energy standards. The state’s first-ever Passive House multifamily development, Hook & Ladder Apartments, opened October 2019 in northeast Minneapolis. It is set to prove just how much of a difference Passive House construction can make in operations cost and occupant comfort compared to buildings designed to conventional energy codes.To create a real-time project demo, lhb Architects designed the complex as a side-by-side experiment with two adjacent, nearly identical apartment buildings. One set of the look alike apartment buildings is built to state energy code specifications, the other to the Passive House Institute U.S. (

Winters in Traverse City can be brutal, so when planning its proposed four-story, 47,000-sq.-ft. Trailside45 apartment building in the northern Michigan town, owner, developer, contractor and operator, Westwind Construction, knew it needed a durable, energy-efficient exterior wall system that would also be attractive and easy to maintain. At first, the company tried life-sized samples of a stenciled brick design for the exterior wall. That didn’t achieve the look the design team wanted, so it explored other options.“We envisioned a modern, contemporary design and wanted a versatile exterior appearance, using as many textures as possible to provide exterior character,” said