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Model Home, Goodyear Heights, Ohio
Model Home, Goodyear Heights, Ohio
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Model Home, Goodyear Heights, Ohio
The neighborhood of GoodyearHeights, in Akron, OH, is a distinctive example of developments which sprouted up around industrial areas in the early 20th century. Its construction began in 1912 at the behest of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company founder F.A. Seiberling. Seiberling wished to provide his workers with decent & affordable housing within walking distance of the Goodyear industrial complex (see 6.1). The Goodyear Company grew- as did the neighborhood- swallowing up acres of farmland on the outskirts of industrial Akron. Later in the century, as factory jobs dwindled & industrial blight became commonplace throughout the country, GoodyearHeights fell victim to neglect & abandonment. The neighborhood that exists today is a shadow of its former self, with vacancy rates soaring along with increasing crime and poverty. The area is increasingly less viable for the young, middle income, working families for which it was built. This problem is emblematic of similar areas throughout the country, which are hemorrhaging their population to ever sprawling suburban communities. On top of glaring social problems, the original design of the neighborhood has detrimental effects on surrounding ecosystems. Its waste water systems are diverted into the ancient, over taxed Akron municipal sewage system. As a result, over 2 billion gallons of untreated wastewater enters the Cuyahoga River basin annually -at extreme detriment to its ecosystems (Hepatitis A and other pathogens have been found to be present in its waters)*. Also, the aging homes are often heated and cooled with outdated systems which serve under-insulated spaces, resulting in unnecessary energy consumption and emissions.
As GoodyearHeights will soon reach its 100th year of existence, it is important to gauge its viability as a healthy and useful part of the community. The conditions & imperatives which fostered its original design have no doubt changed or been replaced by other needs and issues. Thus, this project for a “model home” in the area attempts to identify and address some of these issues. This design was part of a presentation I was asked to give during the Akron AIA’s celebration of its 75th anniversary. The presentation of this design, given to an audience of architects and community members, was preceded by a “Design Table” where community members were given an opportunity to sit with architects and design students to discuss possible improvements to their properties.
The model home design was to be an addition to an existing house in the GoodyearHeights neighborhood. The site was selected in a high traffic area for visibility. Also, it was decided that the most common home type, a simple “Cape Cod” style, would be chosen. Within this subset of homes, a setback and lot type analysis was completed to determine the feasibility of different types of addition typologies. The most common lot type with the greatest opportunity was chosen for the model home. The addition was designed to specifically address several ecological and social imperatives in order to demonstrate how these homes can be reused to once again create a vibrant, useful neighborhood. Specifically, demographic studies helped to create an understanding of how the families of the GoodyearHeights have changed over time. Also, alternative passive and active energy solutions are employed, including photovoltaic and geothermal heat pump technologies. Furthermore, systems are integrated with new grey-water and composting wastewater strategies to limit the homes ecological footprint.
Strategies were employed, using ecologically sensitive methods, to address external changes and provide updated amenities to satisfy the needs of modern working families. Also, the ultimate design of the additional structures were intended to both reflect the scale and character of the existing neighborhood as well as to provide a striking, demonstrative example of modern design and construction methods. The use of reused materials such as oxidized steel, wood siding, and recycled tire rubber roof shingles are meant to both lower the embodied energy of the project and provide a symbolic link to the industrial history of the area.
*According to the City of Akron
As GoodyearHeights will soon reach its 100th year of existence, it is important to gauge its viability as a healthy and useful part of the community. The conditions & imperatives which fostered its original design have no doubt changed or been replaced by other needs and issues. Thus, this project for a “model home” in the area attempts to identify and address some of these issues. This design was part of a presentation I was asked to give during the Akron AIA’s celebration of its 75th anniversary. The presentation of this design, given to an audience of architects and community members, was preceded by a “Design Table” where community members were given an opportunity to sit with architects and design students to discuss possible improvements to their properties.
The model home design was to be an addition to an existing house in the GoodyearHeights neighborhood. The site was selected in a high traffic area for visibility. Also, it was decided that the most common home type, a simple “Cape Cod” style, would be chosen. Within this subset of homes, a setback and lot type analysis was completed to determine the feasibility of different types of addition typologies. The most common lot type with the greatest opportunity was chosen for the model home. The addition was designed to specifically address several ecological and social imperatives in order to demonstrate how these homes can be reused to once again create a vibrant, useful neighborhood. Specifically, demographic studies helped to create an understanding of how the families of the GoodyearHeights have changed over time. Also, alternative passive and active energy solutions are employed, including photovoltaic and geothermal heat pump technologies. Furthermore, systems are integrated with new grey-water and composting wastewater strategies to limit the homes ecological footprint.
Strategies were employed, using ecologically sensitive methods, to address external changes and provide updated amenities to satisfy the needs of modern working families. Also, the ultimate design of the additional structures were intended to both reflect the scale and character of the existing neighborhood as well as to provide a striking, demonstrative example of modern design and construction methods. The use of reused materials such as oxidized steel, wood siding, and recycled tire rubber roof shingles are meant to both lower the embodied energy of the project and provide a symbolic link to the industrial history of the area.
*According to the City of Akron
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