Architects Design Challenge: New Lines Are Drawn

Big Builder's first annual design challenge shows that sales start with designing for people not price points.

BIG BUILDER Magazine
December 8, 2007
By Sarah C. Yaussi

Many big builders have looked for answers to the critical question of how to sell homes in a downturn in perks like free pools and no closing costs, mortgage rate buy downs, and $20,000 off. But as the slowdown protracted and inventory pressures became more acute, incentives have piled up higher and prices have rolled back further. Now pricing's flimsy floor has would-be buyers sitting on the sidelines, wondering just how low builders will go.

But for as much as selling a home in this market is about price, it's also about product. A home sells when it clicks with a buyer's lifestyle and fits the size of the bank account. The only way to do that is through strategic design.

This means looking more closely at target customers to find out who they are as well as what they can spend.

Strategic marketing teams have to start segmenting potential buyers by lifestyles rather than price points, with the hopes of marrying up product design with buyer values. It's now less about designing entry-level, move-up, or luxury and more about designing for groups such as the single female, the Latino wave, and the echo boom.

Faced with this reality, Big Builder magazine put together a series of five design challenges to see what would happen if production home designers were allowed to focus on buyers' needs rather than price points. Theoretical buyer profiles tapped into both the market's most important demographic segments as well as emerging lifestyle trends. Community details and site constraints were outlined to keep the project grounded and encourage creativity.

Eleven designers rose to the occasion and submitted floor plans and elevations for the individual challenges. Some worked collaboratively, and some worked on their own, but the final pool of plans was overflowing with thoughtful reflection, attention to detail, creative additions, and cost considerations.

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The Suburban Exclusives

Design a 3,000-3,200 s.f. detached single-family home with high curb appeal and handicap accessibility for a nouveau-riche married couple with blended family.

Equal Opportunity

Designers ensured ramps were strategically placed at the home's thresholds, both in the garages and at doorways, for convenient entry and exit to outdoor pool, patio, lawn, and driveway areas. An open main level skeleton makes maneuvering through the living, dining, and kitchen areas a breeze. Moreover, lowered access points to home features such as kitchen appliances, linen closets, and laundry workstations facilitate every day activity.

A Suite Deal

For a blended family, having space where the children can gather is critical; however, so is ensure they have enough personal space. Gary Fowler penciled in a kid suite for each child, complete with private bathroom and study area.

Fowler solved the question of the "ex" by creating a studio apartment above the garage: "Providing a private guest suite allows for short-term visits that can help [children] maintain and strengthen a relationship with the separated family members."