UrbanBuild 7 [v house prototype]

Designed as part of Tulane University’s UrbanBuild program, the V house is a proposal for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200 sf single family home in the low income neighborhood of Central City. The lot provided for this design was not that of a typical New Orleans shotgun lot, instead the lot was an almost square 65’ by 62’ lot which was a combination of two substandard lots. This unusual lot size provided the opportunity for interesting explorations that are not normally done in a New Orleans residential design setting.

The V house is designed to create an enticing series of spaces in the entrance sequence leading to the back porch, the interconnecting bridge piece. The V shape is created separating the two programmatic branches, one public and the other private, while angling the public branch to create optimal solar lighting and gain and create a more open inner porch space. The porch not only creates a sanctuary of an interior/ exterior space, but also allows all parts of the main public bar to connect visually with the exterior and the other rooms across the porch.

Project Team : Clayton Kaul, Ian O’Cain