BoxBox

Design Portfolio: “BoxBox”

BoxBox is a Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) design that was created and submitted as a contest entry by Concept Design LLC designer Anthony. It is so nice we named it twice! The approach is a simple mantra of three words: Efficient, Affordable, and Livable.

Green Materials, innovative building materials, and efficient yet comfortable spaces are the criteria. As the effort to increase residential densities continue in areas around the county, homeowners have the opportunity and obligation to contribute to affordable housing. For some, this can also go hand-in-hand with generating a source of passive income. In order to accomplish these goals, architectural designers can play a key role to responsibly articulate these spaces to match the mantra put forward by this design.

Whatcom Housing Alliance Contest, 2023

How did this design come to be? First, we should cover the context. In 2023, the Whatcom Housing Alliance (WHA, https://whatcomhousingalliance.org) held their first-ever ADU design competition. The goal was simple: “…to inspire creativity and contribute to more equitable neighborhoods. It is a platform for architects and designers to showcase their talent and contribute to addressing housing challenges“. As a result, BoxBox was envisioned as one of our submissions to the contest.

As the WHA mentioned in their guideline packet, it is a chance for our designers to flex their creativity and contribute toward equitable, prosperous, healthy, and vibrant communities for everyone. Our home town, Bellingham, WA, has seen a dramatic increase in ADU builds, allowing for incredibly nuanced design ideas like BoxBox to come into focus. The known benefits of structures like these include rental income, downsizing, Aging-In-Place, community connection, and environmental awareness.

With that in mind, what were the goals of the competition, and scoring criteria used by their judges?

Competition Goals:

Promote Innovation
Public Awareness & Education
Foster Sustainability and Affordable Design
Make Connections in the Community

Scoring Criteria:

Universal Design & Aging In Place (30%)
Affordability & Cost Effectiveness (30%)
Sustainability & Resilience (25%)
Innovation & Creativity/Aesthetics (15%)

Design Details

Sustainable Materials, Resilience, Aesthetics

Why Bamboo? Along with being one of the fastest growing plants on earth, the plant doesn’t die after harvesting, making it a sustainable material source. Its durability also factors into the sustainability: the longer life span a material possesses, the longer it takes to replace it. Additionally, this is a fantastic quality for flooring, where the likelihood of damage is higher. BoxBox leverages this material, using it’s unique natural grain to offer a brilliant texture to flooring, cladding, and decking options.

Innovative Building Methods, DIY, Cost Effective

What if you could build a home from a material inspired by everyone’s favorite stackable block? Or, what if you could build it yourself while cutting cost in materials and labor? BoxBox was designed from the ground up utilizing Gablock (https://gablock.be/en/), a young Berlin-based company who aims to revolutionize the building industry. A homeowner can reduce costs by building an ADU from easy-to-use blocks and then spend in other places, like higher quality roofing, siding, and flooring materials. Put simply, it works as a complete construction system that is adapted to natural resources.

Multi-Functional Spaces, Creative Storage

In order to achieve a simple, efficient, and accessible living space, certain zones must have more than one function in order to reduce the building footprint. While there is always the option to build a 2-story unit, stairs are potentially problematic to individuals with limited mobility. So, to solve the reduced footprint while maintaining accessibility, furniture should be should dynamic, rather than static. The team at Brooklyn-based company ORI (www.oriliving.com) are doing just that. BoxBox takes their innovative smart furniture, designed for micro apartments, and applies it to this ADU design.