flex house

Flex House is a 3,000-square-foot urban infill project by Johnsen Schmaling Architects, located on North Astor Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Occupying a long-vacant site positioned between an existing apartment building and a surface parking lot, the project responds to its diverse urban and residential context. The house is designed for a family of four, with an adaptable configuration to support a range of future uses, including residential, commercial, or rental functions on the ground floor. The building consists of two interlocking volumes: a steel-clad L-shaped plinth at the base that contains a tandem garage and a flexible street-level unit, and a slightly cantilevered two-story cedar-clad wood volume above housing the main family residence. Horizontal and vertical steel channels separate and frame these two components. Entry is marked by a trellised steel portico that leads to both the main vestibule and the separate ground-floor suite. The primary dwelling reverses typical layouts by placing living spaces and kitchen on the top floor for city views, while bedrooms are on the floor below. A linear roof terrace runs alongside the living area, and the materials reference both nearby commercial and historic residential structures through contrasting steel panels and vertical cedar siding.

Typical architect fee for a 3,000 sq ft new home here: $54,000 – $148,000Full services, Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI · BLS wage and Census construction data

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