This house is an example of Studio 804’s ongoing mission to build creative, sustainable housing in established but underserved urban neighborhoods. It is conveniently located near downtown Lawrence, Kansas, public transportation, and the bike trails that connect the town. It is less than a block from the East Lawrence Recreation Center, which offers a wide variety of services, and across the street from Brook Creek Park, with its open green spaces, playgrounds, and large, mature trees. The 1,300-square-foot house makes extensive use of salvaged materials and minimizes energy consumption. Sixteen net-metered solar panels on the roof provide up to 4.8 kilowatts of power and are intended to generate enough electricity to allow the house to achieve net-zero energy use over a calendar year.

Studio 804 has always been willing to build on brownfield sites and less desirable infill lots in urban neighborhoods. This house was built on two small lots elevated above the floodplain of Brook Creek. Studio 804 saw this as an opportunity because the property cost less than a typical vacant lot in Lawrence’s established neighborhoods.

The insulated metal panels that distinctively clad the house were rejected from the construction of a nearby tennis center. When Studio 804 began developing a design around these panels, the prefabricated steel Lustron houses built in the United States after World War II came to mind. These houses were developed in response to the housing shortage faced by veterans returning from the war. This house shares the spirit of the Lustron homes: it is a modest, self-sustaining, low-maintenance, fully accessible dwelling that offers a model for future housing as resource management becomes increasingly important.