On an empty lot next door to a popular craft brewery, the Blockhouse team wanted to build housing that would fit a buzzing Spokane (WA) neighborhood.

They carefully placed micro and skinny units around some old-growth trees to create a pocket neighborhood (interior gathering spaces for the community), leaving just a few parking spaces at the property’s edge.

The Blockhouses were partially prefabbed – making it easier to save the trees – from cross-laminated timber (CLT) that serves as both structure and interior cladding. The wood, sourced (by Vaagen Timbers) from small-diameter and sometimes diseased or dead trees, helps to clear the local national forest for forest fires.

They covered the entire roof of Perry Street Brewery with solar panels in order to achieve net-zero status. Each of the eight units – from the 960-square-foot skinny homes to the 260-square-foot micro studios – has a smart wall that helps to control climate based on use and weather conditions.