Last month, I sat down with Single Stair North Carolina to discuss how Denver's single stair design competition united architects, policymakers, & community leaders. The interview explored lessons learned for communities seeking solutions to the housing crisis. singlestairnc.substack.com

Built in 1978 as the original "Seattle Special," all 15 units at the 6-story, single-stair Pike & Virginia Building overlook Puget Sound. The first new construction in the Pike Place Market historic district in 50 years, it was designed with a small footprint to meet strict urban design guidelines.

Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & County is proving what’s possible with Olympic Ridge. With a single-stair design, they’ve managed to fit 17 dual-aspect affordable condos on a incredibly narrow 35-foot wide lot in Capitol Hill. This is a masterclass in urban infill and density done right.

Last week, a reporter asked what’s next for the single-stair movement. My hope? That it does for building codes what @wesmars.bsky.social and "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" did for transit: establish that US building codes are fundamentally outdated and ready for a complete overhaul.

NEW VIDEO: North America’s Elevator’s Problem Elevators are absolutely essential to modern cities..... and it turns out North America kind of sucks at them. We partnered with @sightline.org to look into the many issues plaguing our elevator industry, and what it might take to fix it.

Built in 1978 as the original "Seattle Special," all 15 units at the 6-story, single-stair Pike & Virginia Building overlook Puget Sound. The first new construction in the Pike Place Market historic district in 50 years, it was designed with a small footprint to meet strict urban design guidelines.

Rocksresort - Laax, Switzerland by Domenig Architekten 4-story single-stair buildings - designed to look like "randomly fallen boulders"- clustered around a central square. The 11 monolithic cube-shaped buildings include 4-6 units per floor and 160 luxury apartments and a 70-unit boutique hotel.

East Bay for Everyone, as co-host with Livable Communities Initiative, is proud to announce the winners of the National Single Stair Design Competition: www.singlestair.com

Congrats to the ONTO Álvaro Obregón project in Mexico City for winning The Architect's Newspaper's Residential (small, multi-unit) Project of the Year. CRB Arquitectos recently completed the 8-story mass timber building that contains 59 units, a shared roof deck, and ground floor restaurant.

This week, the 'Kentucky Housing Task Force' issued a Final Report recommending key building code reforms to bring down construction costs Included is a suggestion to change state building code to allow single-stair housing(although it is already allowed up to 3-stories) www.klc.org/News/13091/k...

Another new member of the Parking + Single Stair Reform club just dropped. Congrats to Denver! Who's next?

It's official, last night Denver City Council adopted a local single-stair ordinance! Beginning December 31, 2025, 5-story single-stair housing will be permitted in Denver! www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/11/24/d...

With a unanimous city council vote, Culver City becomes California's first city to allow taller single-stair buildings www.usnews.com/news/best-st...

Somebody in the audience pointed out something that I didn’t know, which is that Queensbridge Houses, the largest NYCHA project in the city (and thereby largest public housing complex in North America), is single-stair. platform-affordable-dwelling.bk.tudelft.nl/database/201...

The people writing urban building codes aren't actually familiar with urbanism ↓↓↓

Culver City's single stair ordinance has been approved by the state, so you can now build single-stair apartment buildings up to six stories

Denver’s chief building official was interviewed about the upcoming change to the City's building code to allow taller single-stair housing that exceeds the state's minimum requirements by also allowing Type III construction businessden.com/2025/11/17/d...

The Reason Foundation is latest organization promoting better housing policy through single-stair code reform. reason.org/commentary/t...

Pro-Housing Pittsburgh: Removing the two-staircase requirement in the building code is key to tackling Pittsburgh's housing crisis by lowering construction costs, unlocking smaller lots, and allowing more family-sized units @prohousingpgh.org www.prohousingpgh.org/blog/policy-...

This is a great article by @matthutchins.bsky.social on how Seattle’s new missing middle allowances can lead to a broad range of new housing options on lots previously sequestered for 1 single home. medium.com/@matthutchin...

🏠 Denver just got closer to building more housing! This week, City Council's seven member Housing Committee unanimously advanced a bill allowing 5-story single-stair buildings in a decisive 7-0 vote. Final Full Council vote: 11/24 Effective Date: 12/31/25

The next pro-housing state eyeing architectural innovation through single-stair reform: Utah kslnewsradio.com/utah/small-b...

For decades, a prime but isolated corner parking lot at 4th & Broadway in Denver's Baker neighborhood was too small for traditional development. Thanks to Denver's forthcoming single-stair code updates, KGA Architects is proposing a 5-story single-stair apt on this "forgotten lot"

Why do builders put up giant McMansions, when zoning allows a fourplex? TLDR: A host of regulations make fourplexes lose money. I read the eye-opening report. Now I'm looking forward to the podcast.

brb, I'm heading out for Guatemala City for the weekend www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/227059...

TerraEsperanza in Guatemala City shows what’s possible with the flexibility of single-stair design — a vibrant, 10-story mixed-use building on a small lot. Designed by Mexico City's Legorreta + Legorreta, the project floats above the grade plane and provides a variety of unit sizes.

AIA Tennessee Single-Stair Design Competition Finalist: Lightframe A new type of living in Knoxville. The building is centered around a central concrete core with the basic circulation needs, one stair and an elevator. Living spaces are suspended from the concrete core with steel platforms.

"States Advance Single-Stairway Reforms to Expand Housing" see also- •Small Single-Stairway Apartment Buildings Have Strong Safety Record •Single-Stair as a Path to More Affordable, Diverse, and Sustainable Housing www.pew.org/en/research-...

The second egress stair in modern missing-middle housing is like your appendix; It's a remnant from long ago that no longer serves a purpose and sometimes creates real problems.

1pm, Tuesday, 11/4, Denver's City Council's Housing Committee will hear 15-minutes of public testimony on single-stair building code amenmdents. Sign up to testify here- www.denvergov.org/Government/A...

Tadao Ando's multifamily circulation strategy: Scissor stairs At the 8-story, 53-luxury unit Dubai Armani Beach Residences, the award-winning architect will utilize an exit strategy not allowed in US building code where units are clustered around vertical stair and elevator cores.

Single-stair buildings up to 6 stories are legal in Baltimore City! Headed to Mayor Scott's desk for signature.

I asked Colorado’s affordable housing leaders what size projects they’re building during a panel on single-stair housing at the Housing Colorado conference. The answers made one thing clear: Colorado has missing middle housing problem. "Abundance means all types of housing typologies"

After TO Council passed a motion indicating the City was open to Alternative Solution Proposals for a single stair in apts up to 4 storeys, I applied for a single stair in a 3 storey Part 9 6plex. I’m told it’s the first one, so it’s a test case. Here’s how it’s going. #singlestair #sixplex

439 Am Tacheles, Berlin A 10-building mixed-use enclave w/ high-end housing designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Units are characterized by a focus on minimalist design and diverse layouts that cater to a luxury market. Single stair circulation allows full depth plans for ample daylight.

AIA Tennessee Single-Stair Design Competition Finalist: SEED BLOCK (a prototype for block-scale growth) proposing a repeatable, flexible, six-story mixed-use protype tailored to grow within Knoxville's typical 50'x100' lot dimensions.

I've been on two calls today with fire safety professionals where the topic was the safety of single-stair buildings. On both calls, somebody was driving while on the call – one a firefighter, the other a fire protection engineer.

As brought to my attention by a Strong Towns article by @dpherriges.bsky.social and posts by @dereksagehorn.bsky.social, this is Lawrence Veiller talking about the idea behind using the building code to incentivize single-family houses and discourage apartment buildings, from 1913:

Denver single-stair case study using recent changes in the city's zoning and building code to unlock 4-stories of affordable housing on a lot zoned for 3-stories. kgarch.com/4-story-sing...

Earlier this year ... I toured an apartment project under construction that has been designed for families in Redmond, Washington AMLI Redmond Way 126 Units, average size >1100 SF. 1BR+Den, 2BR+Den and 3BR units. Amenities:

Winner of Billings Architectural Association's 2025 Single-Stair Housing Competition by Trae Schwenneker. The competition focused on urban infill in Downtown Billings, MT. The winning project honors the historic brick architect of Montana Avenue w/ ground-floor retail & four upper levels of condos.

Good news - Safe, new apartment construction is at a 50-year high, with nearly 600,000 units in 2024 Bad news - U.S. housing stock is the oldest that it has ever been, putting residents at risk bsky.app/profile/sean...

‘Residual Income’ Study Reveals Two-Thirds of Working Age Renters Struggle to Make Ends Meet - h/t Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

New analysis by Pew shows how modern multifamily housing built since 2000 has far lower death rates than new single family homes and older housing stock. www.pew.org/en/research-...

Denver Single-Stair Housing Challenge (2025) Challenge: Envision a way to boost housing, lower costs, & allow more light-filled, family-friendly units on small Denver lots Result: 230+ creative submissions from designers and architects around the world architecturecompetitions.com/pointaccessb...