Crofton Springs: Blending Old, New and the Future
By Joanne Friedrick
Archi.Tech Residential
Spring 2004
Crofton Springs, a 121-unit development in the Issaquah Highlands community in Issaquah, Washington, harkens to the neighborhoods of the past, with its walkable, social-oriented design.
Yet, Crofton Springs is also wired for current networking needs and beyond, offers a communitywide Intranet and is constructed under sustainable regional Built Green standards, bringing a large dose of the new into a community with old-fashioned character.
Kristen Scott, a principal with Seattle-based Weber + Thompson and the architect behind the project, says Crofton Springs is reflective of the "new urbanism" movement in architecture. The movement is known for its focus on urban density and away from a car-centric community.
She describes Crofton Springs as "an urban neighborhood in suburbia," with a mix of housing styles: rowhouses, lofts, carriage homes, garden and hillside cottages, garden flats and townhomes. The different home types available within Crofton Springs top out at about 1,800 square feet and begin at about 1,250 square feet, says Scott.
Among the more popular homes in the development are the carriage house and rowhouse, she points out. The former features a large, flexible living, dining and kitchen area, along with two bedrooms and a den. The carriage house is open with a lot of natural light, Scott says.
All of the homes, she says, use plenty of windows to keep the smaller spaces light-filled and well ventilated while providing interesting views as well, she says.
The brick rowhouse, which have "a very traditional, East Coast feel," says Scott, were among the first to sell out. The end units in the rowhouses section have wrap-around porches that are raised about street level, Scott explains, with an attached garage at the base. "Their old-world charm really appeals to people," she says.
Although there may be less space in Crofton Springs' homes than in some typical suburban developments, Scott says the home designs focus on flexibility. Rather than devoting entire rooms for a specific purpose, such as home theaters and workout spaces, which add to the overall square footage, "we created spaces to accommodate changing lifestyles," she says.
Spaces are designed to serve multiple roles – home office, entertainment space, sleeping areas – depending on the needs of the homeowner.
Some home types, Scott points out, feature remote parking so rather than having the houses oriented to streets and garages, the principle focus is yards and walkways. The farthest walk is about 120 yards from the cottage to the car, says Scott. "We didn't think that was asking too much," she says, adding that the tradeoff is a huge area of shared green space.
A stream, formed by recycled storm water, serves as "a social spine," explains Scott. "It orients people as a street grid would normally."
Scott says when the road network is removed from a community, residents have more opportunity to walk around and socialize. Crofton Springs further emphasizes communication and community in its architectural design through the use of front porches and stoops. "You get to watch what goes by in front of you," Scott says.
Although Crofton Springs has definite elements of the past in its design, Scott says they were careful to get past making it "just a stage set effect." In development, she says, there is a need for nostalgia, but it must be practical.
In offering myriad dwelling types, Scott says, "We wanted a stable of different product types that pushed beyond the norm." Even within the building types there are multiple floor plans and elevation options, Scott notes, "which creates the look of a development built over time." The use of subtle changes in exterior color – more than 90 shades are available – helps build a sense of individuality within a planned community.
The evolution of the planned community, Scott says, has taken shape as people's needs have changed. "People want a greater sense of security," she says, such as getting to know their neighbors because their extended families may not be near by. They are also seeking unique environments, she says, "not something bland and repetitive."
Crofton Springs, explains Scott, is an example of a "concerted move toward mixing building types, sizes and income levels into an integrated community. In the past, particularly, neighborhoods in new communities tended to be very similar prices and densities," she says.
The market is also moving toward sustainable design. More potential home buyers, she says, are asking about building materials, maintenance issues and quality of construction.
Joe Giampietro, project manager at The Dwelling Co., the home builder for Crofton Springs, says environmental and energy-conserving features are found throughout the project, which was constructed according to the Built Green standards of the Master Builders Associates of King and Snohomish counties.
The density of homes is 19 per acre vs. the typical 10 per acre in most developments, explains Giampietro, noting this conserves space and allows for more pedestrian-oriented areas. And the use of common walls – about 74 percent of the homes are attached – reduces energy usage.
Even the clustering of garages allows for "less intensive landscaping" and more overall green space retention, he said.
Within the homes, hydronic heating systems are installed, featuring individual thermostatically controlled registers. With no ducts in the house, there is no loss of heat through the system, says Giampietro, and airborne dust and pollution are also reduced.
Tankless hot water heaters from manufacturers Takagi and Noritz use less room within the homes, are more efficient and provide hot water on demand, he says.
Other conservation-oriented measures at Crofton Springs involved the use of prefinished hardwood and the recycling of storm water into an artificial stream on the property.
The stream, Giampietro says, "provides a more attractive environment. It becomes an aesthetic feature."
In addition to its Built Green status, Crofton Springs is also promoted as a wired community, notes Tim Diller, director of finance for Port Blakely Communities, the developer of Issaquah Highlands, and project manager of Highlands Fiber Network.
As the master developer, Diller says back in the planning stages, they realized technology would be part of people's lives and consulted on what would be the best options.
The decision, he says, was to bring fiber to the home. "We said, 'Let's take (two strands of) fiber to the door of every dwelling."
Each home features a central data center with CAT5e, cable and phone going to each major room. Additionally, some homeowners have added wireless capabilities.
Home entertainment systems and home automation are also easy to build into the houses because the structured wiring is in place, Diller says.
Diller calls Issaquah Highlands "future proofed," noting the system is robust enough to handle considerable expansion. "We're only using a fraction of its (the fiber network's) capability," he says.
Another feature is the Intranet with its community calendar, bulletin boards and clubs. "It's another way of bringing a community together," explains Diller.
As a community-owned and operated system, Diller says the network can be configured to meet the needs of its users. Right now, residents have a choice of four residential packages, including one that allows up to five IP addresses per household for gaming and web hosting; and one business package for those who telecommute.
The advantages of the community owning its network, he says, are local customer service, system customization and the ability to be early adopters of technology. If the community wants to pursue something, he says, "We don't have to wait. We operate for the benefit of the community."
The network has a permitted density of 3,200 dwellings, Diller says, of which 2,500 must be mandatory subscribers. After that, the rest is voluntary. All told, Diller says he expects the acceptance rate will be around 70 percent.
The community's retail business section is also on the network, allowing communication between homes and businesses, Diller says.
"The real story is that we created something that is viable; a rallying point (for the community) that can grow to be many different things," he says. "We're there and we're ready," he adds, whether the community wants to pursue home automation, security or other communications options down the road.