Commentary from senior executives of the bellwether public home builders confirms one thing. Whether it’s accurate or not to call 2013’s latter-half slowdown a “pause” or something else, it’s clear that what's changed is this: Not everything is working, and some things are working very well. That’s called “lumpy.” So, our focus on five production home builder design mega-trends that will be helpful for 2014 is on those that will materially impact your results in the next 12 months. We got help here from Michael Woodley, whose eponymous firm is headquartered in the Denver area, and from Manny Gonzalez and his mates at KTGY, both firms who do a great deal of work with production home builders. More
Learn Your XYB's: Builder's 2012 Concept Homes are a lesson in knowing what your buyers want and how to deliver it. More
For a hard-working professional couple with active kids and a live-in relative, here's the ticket: a home that multitasks as hard as its owners do. More
For empty-nesters, it’s about scaling down and having fun, with room for kids, grandkids, and friends to visit on holidays and weekends. More
A young couple starting out needs room for a growing family, plus space for visiting friends and relatives. More
Designers Sarah Susanka and Michael Woodley share their thoughts about perception and reality at the Housing Leadership Summit. More
Michael Woodley, AIA, leads a double life. An avid ice hockey fan, he has season tickets to see the Colorado Avalanche in Denver and the Mighty Ducks in Anaheim, Calif. He's an active member of the AIA and the Building Industry Association in Orange Count More
Eureka! fits because the exuberant, 6,300-square-foot house, designed by the... More
Small-lot configurations have been around for many years, but today builders are using them more often. The challenge is not so much finding buyers who are willing to live on less land; plenty of people like the low-maintenance lifestyle it offers or are happy to sacrifice lot size for location. Rather, it's manipulating space to create new products that appeal to buyers, the neighbors, and the jurisdictions. "Our goal as architects is to make people not realize the lot has shrunk by carefully planning the house so the outdoor space is seamless," says architect Michael Woodley, of Woodley Architectural Group in Denver. More
