domestiCITY Competition

Lord Aeck Sargent was one of two finalists that competed in Phase II of domestiCITY, the City of Atlanta’s affordable housing design competition.

Sponsored by the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, Enterprise Community Partners, and Assist Community Design Center, the competition was structured as “a two-phase design competition that will explore best practices and innovative strategies for the planning, design, construction and operation of affordable and sustainable developments in increasingly urbanized areas.”

Through multiple design charrettes, pin-ups and iterations informed by market realities, the LAS team put together a proposal for a unique housing solution that would be both innovative, in terms of architectural and green infrastructure strategies, and replicable, because of its modular approach and financial feasibility. This solution was largely driven by the use of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT): an innovative, engineered timber product that has schedule time and cost savings, low embedded energy (renewable material) and the opportunity to create local jobs for Georgia’s strong lumber industry. The use of CLT as our primary construction technology helped to reduce the overall project budget, allowing us to create greater affordability for the supportive and workforce housing and job creation opportunities in our proposal.

Phase II of domestiCITY entailed a more detailed pro forma, further design development and proposed methodology for community outreach and engagement among other requirements. Phase II was followed by a public exhibition to showcase all the recognized design submissions.