Community engagement

Welcome home: Architecture students use research to design affordable, sustainable housing

Home. Be it big or small, rented or owned, on the range or in the big city, there’s no place like it.

Finding an affordable home, though, can be a challenge across the U.S. Experts say affordable housing should cost no more than 30% of one’s annual income. But according to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly half of Americans earning under $50,000 per year are now overburdened by housing costs and spend more than 30% of their income on housing. And for every home built for under $150,000, more than 18 homes are built for over $300,000.

A graduate architecture studio at Kansas State University wants to change that by designing affordable and energy-efficient homes that improve quality of life. The Net Positive Studio, created and led by Michael Gibson, associate professor of architecture, is a research-based studio for students in their final year of the five-year Master of Architecture program in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design.