Nothing great was ever achieved without ENTHUSIASM! (Emerson)

Getting started again after our Christmas break has been exhausting but exciting. There was a little problem with our site, to say the least. The site we had chosen, designed for, and recommended to Habitat for Humanity, as well as the Partner Family, proved to be near impossible or impractical to develop. The drainage issue created a problem by adding expense to the project, and prolonging the time schedule for the project. Neither of which are acceptable reasons in justifying a demand to use the E-Line Ave site. Though our design was derived, in part, by extensive analysis of this site, it also gave us a good opportunity for insight with respect to testing our project thesis. Our mission states that HabiTech10 is an organization committed to the design of a new standard of cost-efficient and adaptable housing. Our housing strategy combines modular building systems, prefabricated construction methods, and a flexible design that will adjust to site and family conditions. As aspiring architects, we wish to benefit a family, Habitat for Humanity, and ourselves by optimizing the use of habitable space and combining innovative building strategies. I would not say this was a welcomed challenge for us, but one that we are taking in stride.
Our confirmed new site is 1010 Jones St. There are several positive ways to look at this new site. One being that Lisa Archie (the partner family) is still within close walking distance of her place of employment. Second, she currently lives just next to the new site. Therefore, she will only have to move next door. She already has established relationships with the neighbors and is familiar with her surroundings. This works to our benefit as well, because I feel that there will be less tension amongst the residents. Instead of a new family and Habitat for Humanity house moving into their territory, I feel they will be more supportive and welcome the opportunity given to one of their fellow neighbors. If we are met with little or no opposition from the neighborhood, that will give us a better opportunity to focus our attention in more productive areas. Additionally, I also see the site change as a chance to bring a little bit of the arts to another neighborhood. Previous Habitat/Tech houses have been built adjacent to and near our first site. If we had built there as well, it might have seemed to saturate that area with new, architecturally designed homes, while neglecting or shunning other parts of the community. That, by all means, is far from the impression we hope to give our community. Finally, the new site dimensions are not much smaller than those of our first choice. Both are a fairly narrow width of 50 feet. However, the new site is 150 feet, where the other was 200 feet. Given our limitations on square footage of the house, this doesn't pose any serious problems with our current design. A few minor adjustments can be made to relate the design to this site.
This change does present another perspective with regard to geographical orientation. Subsequently, the sun direction on this site will effect the house design differently. Previously, the southern sun faced the house transversely. Now, the sun will face the longitudinal portion of the house. This is not negatively viewed, but provides a challenging opportunity for us to exhibit the elasticity of our skill, through progressive design.