Design Matters in Traditional Housing Market

JJ Tang, Vice President, Director of Federal Facilities at HDR

JJ Tang, FAIA, F.SAME has been practicing architecture for 30 years. His approach of “seeking simplicity, logic, value added design in contextualism” has been serving him, his teams, and his clients well. His unique architectural insights and innovative work have contributed significantly to national and global security. The buildings he designs are considered among our nation’s most mission-critical assets. In 2011, he received the national Urbahn Medal from the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) which was awarded annually to one SAME architect nationwide for notable and eminent contribution in the field of architecture. He also received the 2016 SAME President's Medal for his outstanding leadership in advancing architectural practice and in 2022, SAME national Toulmin medal for contributing to the knowledge of military engineering or national security. He is a well published author and a frequent speaker at national events.

Currently, he is the Vice President, Director of Federal Facilities at HDR and serves on the Industry Advisory Board of the Master of Science in Project Management Program at Northwestern University.

In an interview with Construction Tech Review Canada Magazine JJ Tang talks about how his two and a half year journey of applying his design philosophy to residential housing market made him realize that good design matters in traditional housing market, not only add value, but also it is a good business for builders, developers.

It is every architect’s dream to design and build his or her own house. You did that. Please tell us about it.

My house is in a small beach community on the east coast of Florida. The neighborhood reminds me a lot of an old-fashioned Key West community where the little streets all lead to the beach; where houses are modest with traditional coastal vibes—gable, shed roofs with porches; where residents stroll to the beach without crossing a major street. In addition, there is a public park with a 2-story beach pavilion and an ADA ramp leading directly to the beach. My wife has difficulty walking, and she instantly fell in love with this neighborhood.

We bought the plot during Covid in 2020. It took me two years to design and work closely with a local builder to build it. I started my design by first studying the site, the orientation, and the views. I discovered there is a small angle in my plot, which, if I position the house right, would give me a view of the ocean. Most people would have missed it since it is not that obvious.

I elevated the living spaces to the second floor and created an open concept floor plan with a kitchen, dining, living room, and covered outdoor deck, all oriented toward the ocean for the view. Further, I vaulted the ceiling of these spaces by choosing an A-frame roof truss system, together with the glazing end walls, to maximize the million-dollar view. The living spaces are airy, simple, and elegant, filled with abundant natural light.

" Good designs need not necessarily cost more "

Another creative design element is how I made the septic system disappear and created a green lawn right next to the pool. As we all know, a residential septic system typically has an unsightly 3’ high berm for the drain field. My plot is tight. The drain field is adjacent to my 12’x32’ pool. I built a 3’ high retaining wall around the drain field and leveled it, then elevated the pool deck to align with the top of the drain field. Effectively, I turned the drain field into a flat grass lawn, an extension of the pool deck. From a cost perspective, it made a lot of sense as well because the plot is in a flood plain, and I must elevate the site and the first-floor elevation anyway to meet the FEMA requirement.

Sounds like this is a great house. Was it very expensive to build?

No. Good designs need not necessarily cost more. Most middle-class homeowners think they can’t afford to hire an architect to design their house; they just need to pick a floor plan model from their builder. They don’t see the value of a good design provided by an architect in the current home-building trend.

Good design with budget consciousness utilizes the predominant construction methods to bring out the best of the site, the view, the light, and the functionality of the homeowner’s needs to maximize the value of the house. My house is a familiar, traditional wood frame structure on stem walls. So it was very easy to build. But there is a uniqueness to the familiar design. I created the living spaces with a million-dollar view by utilizing standard A-frame wood roof trusses, standard 4’x5’ hurricane-resistant windows, and a post-beam-covered deck.

The result is a traditional coastal residential style with a modern twist. This unique-familiarity approach has separated our house from many others in the area. You need some uniqueness to sell familiarity. You also need familiarity to sell uniqueness. I think I did just that.

Does the design add value to your home?

Absolutely. When the final house appraisal came out as part of my mortgage process, I was happily shocked by the appraised value. My thinking had always been - good design should increase the value of your home but should not cost you more. In my case, I was able to create a million-dollar view house and make the septic system disappear with a run-of-the-mill house construction budget.

From your experience, what’s your suggestion to homeowners when they want to build their homes?

When you don’t see the value, you don’t buy it. I get it. I don’t think the majority of middle-class homeowners realize good design adds value to their homes without costing them a fortune.

Let’s take my wife, for example. Once the house was built last Christmas, she has been experiencing the airy spaces, abundant light, and beautiful views every day while cooking in the kitchen, relaxing in the living room or the deck, and having dinner at the dining table. She prefers to live in our vacation house full-time. So, we decided to turn this house into our permanent residence. This is just such a powerful story to demonstrate that a good design can indeed influence people in a profound way.

So, I will say to any homeowner who wants to build their dream home to hire a good architect whose design can improve their quality of life and maximize their investment.

From your experience, what’s your suggestion to builders when they build homes?

I know the majority of builders act as designers to draw up house plans. Since everyone in this market is getting paid dollars/SF to build, there are few incentives to be creative in design. What I would say to these builders is to please collaborate with architects. Good design adds value to your bottom line and improves the quality of life of its occupants for generations to come. It is our responsibility as architects, engineers, and builders to improve the built environment for the masses.