The Campaign for Excellence in Affordable Housing Design

MISSION

The Campaign for Excellence in Affordable Housing Design is a new, national initiative to help the providers of affordable housing:

1. to understand the meaning and value of good design in affordable housing; and
2. to see how a commitment to good design can help them in their work.

The Campaign is founded on the belief that better design is a key - and largely underutilized - means for adding value and overcoming resistance to affordable housing development. The Campaign further believes that well-designed housing has the following clear advantages over standard, "code-minimum" developments:

The Campaign is committed to demystifying the meaning and value of design and to promoting design excellence in all affordable housing developments across the United States.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the Campaign to establish high quality design as the standard for all affordable housing developments and, in the process, to help:

• Increase the availability of affordable housing;
• Decrease resistance to affordable housing;
• Increase neighborhood stability; and
• Improve the quality of life for residents of affordable housing.

The specific objectives of the Campaign are to:

• Educate stakeholders involved in the production and delivery of affordable housing concerning the meaning, value and process of good design.
• Develop research-based data and tools that will inform this education process and, in turn, help transform the community development marketplace into one which understands, values and demands higher quality design.
• Utilize the Affordable Housing Design Advisor as the repository for Campaign research results and the platform for Campaign education and outreach activities.

3-YEAR PLAN

The plan for the Campaign is organized into three, yearlong phases:

• Year 1: Building Awareness
• Year 2: Institutionalizing the Message
• Year 3: Transforming the Market

Each phase is further divided into four separate, but interrelated, components:

• Education and Outreach
• Research and Development
• Enhancements and Upgrades to the Affordable Housing Design Advisor
• Anticipated Outcomes

The Design Updates posted each month to the Design Advisor website are a core component of Year 1 Education and Outreach activities for the Campaign.

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

The Campaign is supported by the Fannie Mae Foundation in cooperation with many of the leading organizations in the fields of affordable housing design and community development:

• The American Institute of Architects
• The Enterprise Foundation
• The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
• The Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• The National Congress for Community Economic Development
• The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

It is anticipated that additional partners will join the Campaign as its activities expand over time.

MANAGEMENT

The secretariat for the Campaign is the Center for Architecture and Building Science Research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which also serves as the secretariat for the Affordable Housing Design Advisor.

The Campaign and the Design Updates program were conceived of, and are currently directed by, Deane Evans, FAIA, Executive Director of NJIT Center for Architecture and Building Science Research.

The Principal Author of the Design Updates series is Jody Beck, Research Architect.