Ethan Lewis Grant Story

Ethan Lewis Grant Story

Conducting Research, Analysis, and Design: Rethinking New Orleans
Single-Family Neighborhoods Through Prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units

The Newcomb-Tulane College Grant provided funding for my interdisciplinary honor thesis investigating architectural and real estate development issues surrounding Accessory Dwelling Units locally. The Thesis was entitled Backyard Building: Rethinking New Orleans Single-Family Neighborhoods Through Prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units. The thesis statement is as follows:
New Orleans must revitalize suburban neighborhoods with densification and diversification without displacement as residents age and family types diversify. Underutilized spaces on homeowners’ lots offer enormous potential as a catalyst for transformation. Implementing affordable, pre-approved, and prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units and concurrent investments in the block’s infrastructure will create a powerful symbiosis between sustainable communities, modular construction, and wealth generation.

The architectural components of the thesis consist of three core components. The first is research, an analysis of existing typologies, documentation of notable precedents, and travel to Los Angeles, a center of ADU production, to interview experts and examine existing ADUs. The second is a zoning overlay for the city’s single-family neighborhoods, which lays the structural framework for the block-scale organization of the ADUs. This overlay facilitates the creation of common greens and community nodes, soft borders, and intergenerational living. Lastly, individual prefabricated units were designed to properly balance the resiliency, affordability, and comfort of both existing homeowners and new residents of ADUs.

The Real Estate Development components of the thesis include a survey of Uptown New Orleans, a neighborhood with existing ADU stock, demonstrating that ADUs are primarily used as below market rate long-term rentals and that homeowners with ADUs report high rates of satisfaction and many use them to convert their mortgage payments. Financial analysis of the impact on a typical city block, the use of HELOCs to fund the construction of ADUs, and the return on investment for homeowners was conducted, demonstrating a 14-year payback period and long-term benefits.

The grant covered various expenses, such as printing for desk crits, material exploration, modeling, and conducting the survey. While the final review and submission of a written Thesis are still pending, I have provisionally passed my Oral Defense.