THE HARDEST WORKING HOUSE ON THE CAPE
Young professionals and families are leaving Cape Cod because they cannot afford the housing costs and their professional ambitions are not matched by opportunity. The Side Hustle House addresses both of these concerns with a comfortable and efficient house plan that adapts to life's changes while supporting methods of generating income on the side.
According to the 'Shape the Cape' demographic survey, more than half of young Cape Cod residents need to supplement their primary income because they are not earning enough from their primary jobs to cover basic living expenses and add to their savings. Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, VRBO, TaskRabbit, Beautycounter, LuLaRoe, etc. have all been developed to help fill this growing demand. It is time for the housing market to catch up.
The Side Hustle House has the charm of a classic Cape cottage and the flexibility of a swiss army knife. It supports a wide range of living arrangements, from growing and/or intergenerational families to roommates and unattached singles. It can start as a simple two-bedroom unit and turn into a three-bedroom house with an office, a two-bedroom home with a vacation rental, or a one-bedroom unit with an apartment above. Each configuration is designed with a balance of privacy and connection in mind. The primary living spaces are all oriented to one side, so a series of houses can be built in a row without compromising privacy. The exterior design is a fresh take on a classic cottage form, ensuring the home's long-term marketability.
The impact of this design is greater than a single house or a development. The architect and Cape Cod Young Professionals, a local non-profit, have teamed to offer The Side Hustle House as an open source set of plans. The mission is to provide a resource that is "shovel-ready" for builders and developers, a template for real estate agents with land listings, a low barrier to entry project for potential homeowners, and an asset for communities.
The adaptable, expandable house, and the community it supports, has been developed with a particular market and aesthetic in mind, but with minor modifications this base plan could easily translate to compliment any regional style. The Side Hustle House project goes beyond the functional requirements of "missing middle" housing to understand the needs and desires of residents today.

THE HARDEST WORKING HOUSE ON THE CAPE

Young professionals and families are leaving Cape Cod because they cannot afford the housing costs and their professional ambitions are not matched by opportunity. The Side Hustle House addresses both of these concerns with a comfortable and efficient house plan that adapts to life's changes while supporting methods of generating income on the side.
According to the 'Shape the Cape' demographic survey, more than half of young Cape Cod residents need to supplement their primary income because they are not earning enough from their primary jobs to cover basic living expenses and add to their savings. Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, VRBO, TaskRabbit, Beautycounter, LuLaRoe, etc. have all been developed to help fill this growing demand. It is time for the housing market to catch up.
The Side Hustle House has the charm of a classic Cape cottage and the flexibility of a swiss army knife. It supports a wide range of living arrangements, from growing and/or intergenerational families to roommates and unattached singles. It can start as a simple two-bedroom unit and turn into a three-bedroom house with an office, a two-bedroom home with a vacation rental, or a one-bedroom unit with an apartment above. Each configuration is designed with a balance of privacy and connection in mind. The primary living spaces are all oriented to one side, so a series of houses can be built in a row without compromising privacy. The exterior design is a fresh take on a classic cottage form, ensuring the home's long-term marketability.
The impact of this design is greater than a single house or a development. The architect and Cape Cod Young Professionals, a local non-profit, have teamed to offer The Side Hustle House as an open source set of plans. The mission is to provide a resource that is "shovel-ready" for builders and developers, a template for real estate agents with land listings, a low barrier to entry project for potential homeowners, and an asset for communities.
The adaptable, expandable house, and the community it supports, has been developed with a particular market and aesthetic in mind, but with minor modifications this base plan could easily translate to compliment any regional style. The Side Hustle House project goes beyond the functional requirements of "missing middle" housing to understand the needs and desires of residents today.

FACT SHEET

Block, Neighborhood, and Building

Best Of Houses that Work as Hard as You Do

Project Characteristics:

• Public policy program: Open Source Plans in Partnership with Non-Profit

• Incorporates universal design principles: Flexible unit sizes, aging-in-place, units adaptable for accessibility

• Infill/previously developed sites: Can be implemented in existing communities to diversify housing stock

• Incorporates and meets AIA2030 Challenge: Designed Net-Zero Possible, roof pitch calculated for optimal solar panel placement

• Greenfield/previously undeveloped site: Can be implemented in a variety of forms in new developments to create vibrant, active communities.

Has your plan been adopted or your project broken ground?

• Adopted

What percentage has been built/implemented?

• Plans available via Non-Profit Partner in Spring 2018

Estimated date of completion, if applicable:

• Spring 2018 (Plans); Construction Open Ended

Project Cost (optional):

• Plans are offered Open Source; Current market construction costs range $135-155/sf

Number of Residential Units:

• Open Ended

Residential Unit Types:

• 1BR, 2BR, 2BR + ADU, 3BR

Transect zone(s) (optional):

• Sub-Urban / Rural

SIDE HUSTLE GOALS

The Side Hustle House project starts from a point of exploration – how to encourage young professionals, working families, and year-round residents to stay and strengthen communities in an increasingly expensive housing market? Recognizing that residents are increasingly relying on additional income streams, this project uses adaptive design to encourage greater diversity (both in age and socio-economic status) via support for intergenerational living and an attainable construction cost. The project recognizes the principles of diversity and public/private use as engines of prosperity for people of all incomes. The Side Hustle House provides the physical support for a number of economic activities benefiting the homeowner and the region, potentially providing both mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhoods in small, infill lots and at new development sites. And where citizen-owners take full responsibility for the physical evolution of the houses with open-source, easily customizable plans, they are in control of the economic diversity and evolution of their neighborhoods.
For this project to be embraced by local clients, the architecture needed to grow from the local vernacular and take into consideration local climate (roof pitch, window sizes) and building practices (material selections, stylistic conventions). The team carefully considered historical patterns of house construction in the region, massing, style, materials, and size, while balancing those factors with the economics of modern construction techniques to find the most economical solution that would be at home in both infill and new developments. The various elevation iterations, were patterned after the historic architectural patterns of the Cape, but push those patterns forward with readily available contemporary materials and sustainable building practices, including net-zero potential.
This project to open source plans started with a local group of concerned non-architect citizens (the CCYP). Resident engagement from the outset strengthens community ties, and the variety of housing produced supports and encourages intergenerational and socio-economic diversity. As champions of the open source plan, and strong supporters of New Urbanist communities, the project team can also guide developers and community groups towards additional resources to knit together walkable, diverse, and prosperous communities beyond the Side Hustle House site.

AN OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION

The Side Hustle House was designed from the outset to be an open source project - available as a set of plans to homeowners and developers through the non-profit partner. The goal was to make high quality design available to everyone, not just those who could afford a personal architect. The advantages of adaptable design and durable construction can have an outsize impact for this target population by offering a level of customization and value that were previously unavailable.

LESSONS LEARNED

There are always challenges when pushing beyond the traditional process of client - architect - builder. Ensuring high-quality work and exceeding the projects' baseline design requirements demanded creative thinking and clear communication.
Constructability for this open source project was a special focus for the team. The plans need to be communicated with standard dimensions and construction techniques so that a licensed builder anywhere can complete the project successfully and inexpensively. It is easy to build. Four corners for a seamless foundation pour, two-foot increments for easy formwork, conventional framing methods, standard stud heights, pre-engineered roof trusses, minimal window variety. This plan is also conducive to paneled and modular construction. A builder on the Cape could construct this house in short order for $135 - $155 per square foot.
The team focused on getting the dimensions of each space to be both efficient and flexible in use. This right-sizing means that the living space is comfortable and intuitive, but also that, for example, the side addition can accommodate an office or a workshop or a one-car garage based on the needs of the client. Or the ADU of a tail addition can be rented out for additional income, until the point when an aging parent needs additional support with daily tasks and wants to be closer to the grandkids.
The Side Hustle House is a solid base. The choices the client makes, driven by their particular needs and lifestyle, are what brings variety and liveliness to the project and the community.