Infill Home Designs

The first question you may have is, what is infill? Infill is simply defined as, "the use of vacant land and property within a built-up area for further construction or development, especially as part of a neighborhood preservation or limited growth program."¹ In recent years, we have seen a shift from urban sprawl to downtown residential development. Metropolitan areas are once again becoming the epicenter for work and entertainment, so instead of building homes in the suburbs, people are moving closer to where the downtown action is happening. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 80% of Americans now live in metropolitan areas.² Some cities like Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and Denver, Colorado have put into place urban infill initiatives specifically to encourage metropolitan growth and to combat urban sprawl.³ Cities like Grand Rapids, Michigan have established "tax-free" zones to advocate residency in the heart of the city.

Are you interested in living closer to your city's center? Do you own a lot in an established neighborhood that is in need of a fitting home design? You have come to the right place -Visbeen Associates has been designing infill homes for quite some time, especially in cities like East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Check out just a few examples of our infill home designs...

The Beaconsfield was designed for a newly-cleared lot in an established, traditional neighborhood.

This Queen Anne cottage won first place at the Traditional Building Design Challenge in 2008. David & Jonathan Lorenz, of Visbeen Associates, designed this narrow cottage to contextually fit on a lot in one of Chicago's historic neighborhoods in North Lawndale.

The exterior of this brick bungalow is reminiscent of home designs of days past with the amenities and open floor plan of the homes of today, balancing the look of a historic home to fit it's surroundings on the outside and meeting the needs of a growing family on the inside.

This infill design, called the Haverhill, is a Georgian-style home whose symmetry, arched rooflines and stone masonry fit beautifully in the context of one of the oldest suburbs of it's county, with surrouding homes dating back to the early 1900's.⁴

sources:

¹ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/infill

² http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-format=US-1

³ http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs-city/938484-city-has-best-urban-infill-initiatives.html

⁴ http://www.eastgr.org/?t=7&c=6