Marianne Cusato
Designer and Author

What are the primary messages of your new books?

Both of them have the same message, but they come at it from a different scale, and that is: through design we can build better places.

The Value of Design looks at a full spectrum, going from the world down to the materials that we put into the house. It also examines each level in between: the streetscapes, the town as a whole, the house and the materials. It looks at the universal themes of design, and really shows that especially in a down economy, design can add value in terms of dollars—which is on people's minds right now, especially in the building industry. Additionally, design can add value in terms of things that are harder to quantify, such as quality of life and the impact on our environment.

With so many things in the news about the economy tanking, the housing industry, green building and aging boomers, there are a lot of questions as to what we can do to really make a difference, especially for both those within the industry and individual homeowners. The Value of Design looks at the changes we can make in the building industry that can become solutions to many of the very serious issues facing all Americans today. This comes down the examining the ‘default setting’ of the industry, which endlessly churns out huge houses, at the end of the cul-de-sacs with materials applied that look like patchworks quilts. Increasingly we are seeing that people don’t want this default, rather we are finding homeowners want to live in homes that are part of a greater community, that are sized for the way they want to live – not how they are made to feel they should live.

Get Your House Right takes it at a slightly different level, and it really looks at the house itself and the details. The idea of Get Your House Right is that architecture has a language, with a vocabulary and a grammar. We all know the vocabulary: the doors, the windows, the eaves…the elements that make up the house. But over time, we've lost the grammar and the result is a house you look at and don't quite know what's wrong with it. This book illustrates where common mistakes happen with different details, and then how to get it right.

Prince Charles wrote the foreword for your book Get Your House Right. How did that partnership come about?

He has been a patron of art, architecture and urbanism for some time. He has really been ahead of the game, getting out there twenty or thirty years ago saying 'we need to build great places. We need to, through design, architecture and urbanism, create viable mixed used communities because it will have less of an impact on the environment, is more sustainable, and it's a more comfortable way of living.' He actually created The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment in London, which studies and looks at ways of building. It is a resource over there for people working on developments. They do courses, and they actually do some urban planning as well.

One of my co-authors, Ben Pentreath, was working for him and sent him the book and we asked if he would be interested in writing the foreword. He, very thankfully, said yes. He was really fascinated by it. He's been a big supporter of these ideas for a long time.

One of your books, The Value of Design, is an extension of James Hardie's Streetscapes series, about creating better places and neighborhoods. As a preview, what are a few things builders can do to make their communities more attractive in this tough market?

Keep it simple. It's not necessary to add every material to every house. There's this feeling that to 'differentiate' a plan you have to add more.

We're actually saying that to really differentiate streetscapes, you do less. Instead of designing individual houses that are seen as single objects, that by designing streetscapes where the houses actually create an outdoor room, the walls of that room are a consistent palette of building that is actually more affordable, easier to build, and results in something that's nicer. That's one of the areas where James Hardie has been a leader. They've been highlighting, through their Streetscapes program, success stories and are showing ways of achieving this.

For most Americans living in suburbia, from the time they leave their garage door, they just travel through a space. They tolerate 'the path' that it takes to get to their parking lot at work. Not much is thought about the existence of that path. But when you start designing it, and actually thinking about it—that outdoor space can become an outdoor room—you can really differentiate what it is you are selling, and you create communities. And the communities then have value.

By really thinking about a streetscape and a community as a composition that's more than the sum of individual parts, you can get away with fewer gables, and fewer patchwork materials. When you don't have a bigger picture, the house has to do everything. But when you engage it in a bigger picture, you can get away with doing a lot less—and it's actually preferable. It works on a lot of levels.

NOTE: Attendees at the 2008 International Builders Show can pick up a copy of The Value of Design by visiting James Hardie's booth (# W1370). Beginning February 15, the book will also be available at www.amazon.com. Trade professionals can request a copy at: www.jameshardie.com.

In your opinion, what is the biggest mistake a builder can make that diminishes the value of a new development?

Designing houses with giant garages in front, and creating streetscapes that are designed 100% around the car. Cars are fine, and obviously crucial to meeting our daily needs, but when we completely lose the idea that people live in these communities as well, we lose a really big piece of what a place can be.

Looking at the materials and how we use them on the building is another thing. There is this feeling of what I call 'the wallpaper effect.' When you look at a lot of new developments, there's a patch of stone, there's a patch of brick, a patch of this and a patch of that. It ends up being gratuitous materials for the sake of materials. Not thinking about the building as a whole is where a lot of builders fall short. You've got the giant garage door in the front and this patchwork of materials and it doesn't click…it doesn't pull together.

But when you push the garage to the back, and make it a house where cars live, but where people are the primary residents, and then you simplify the volumes and materials, you can create streetscapes at that point.

As a designer, how do you feel James Hardie has contributed to better design, both as a building material and as a company?

They've made it possible to design buildings that look like buildings, which is a key first step. They've reintroduced an authentic-looking material that's more durable than the wood it's modeled after, but it stands up to all of the natural conditions that we have to design around: hurricanes, fires, rot, mildew and termites. And it does it in a way that looks great.

One of the taglines that I've seen associated (and we actually used it in our book) is that Hardie brings color back to the street. It says a lot about what they do. There's nothing that drives me crazier than driving down a street of beige McMansions, where you've got every shade of beige imaginable in these developments. It's so boring!

In markets where brick and stucco have taken over because of issues with durability, Hardie offers a really viable alternative to those things. And it has all of the durability of masonry—that's the genius of it. It's the best of both worlds in terms of durability and aesthetics. I specify them all the time. Before I started working with them, I was specifying them.

At a bigger picture level, James Hardie is also very committed to resources and providing developers, builders and homeowners with materials that will actually help build better places. They do this through their Streetscapes program, The Value of Design, and through the outreach programs that they sponsor and support. To me, they're really an industry leader in all of this, in terms of setting the tone for building better places.

In conjunction with your new book, you will also be participating in a series of Continuing Education seminars around the country (with three other town planners and architects) entitled "The Value of Design and Its Effect on Our Lives & Communities." What do you believe attendees will take away from these events?

The upcoming Chicago seminar will be a combination of industry experts giving talks, as well as a Q&A and feedback period. Short presentations will keep things moving. We'll then have a pinup session where people actually bring projects and questions and can have real-time answers. The combined format will help people to see that some of the big picture things discussed by the presenters have real world applications.

I'm really excited about the format because it's going to offer something for everyone—whether they are brand new to some of the ideas we are talking about or whether they've been doing them for years.

I think they will take away inspiration for building better places, as well as some specific tips and tools that they can apply to their work, whether it be designers, developers or builders. Hopefully, we can reach out to homeowners in the future as the seminar evolves.

NOTE: For information on the first seminar to be held for industry professionals on March 4, 2008 in Chicago, go here. Subsequent dates around the country will be announced in upcoming issues of Streetscapes.

You have said that suburbia is a failed experiment. Can you elaborate?

The whole idea that you hop in your car and everything's completely convenient is the American dream, along with house on the cul-de-sac with the white picket fence. But in reality, that is not the experience that most people are getting. Rather, the experience is sitting in cars for hours and hours a day. To get to work, most Americans drive one or two hours—sometimes in each direction. Most Americans have to get in the car to buy a newspaper or a cup of coffee. It's extraordinary. It went from being convenient to being deeply inconvenient very quickly—and it just sort of happened. It's not an ideal lifestyle, especially as oil prices continue to go up and we have environmental concerns.

You embrace the "smaller is better" mantra. Do you believe a super-sized country like the United States is ready to take that message to heart?

More than ever. I was talking to a real estate agent earlier today and she completely confirmed this: people purchase homes not because it's the home they want to live in, but it's the home that they think they need to re-sell. There are a lot of people doing that. There's a huge confidence issue with what people think that they need. We move around so often as Americans, when you purchase a house you have to think of the resale. It requires then that people settle for things that they don't want. The real estate agent was saying she sells [3,000 square foot] houses to people that can't even afford to furnish their entire house. They feel like they need to purchase to keep up with the Joneses.

The Katrina Cottages have been a perfect example of how a small house absolutely resonates. We have had so many people that have come to us and said 'this is exactly what we want. We want something that is small.' It's especially true with the aging boomers.

There are a lot of people out there that would love to be released from the shackles. I think it's increasing with the economy tanking. It's increasing with all of the environmental things that are happening. That's not to say that every single American wants to live in a smaller house. All it's saying is some Americans want to live in a smaller house, and that sum is actually a pretty large number. We've seen it with the Katrina Cottages: the market's there for it. It's just a matter of the industry catching up with the demand.

The only way that you make building a smaller house successful is to build it really well. It's not to say 'just make things smaller,' but make things better. When you have a smaller building, you can put more resources into what you've got.

What has your own residence in New York City taught you about an individual's true space needs?

I live in a 300-square-foot apartment, so I practice what I preach. I work out of it as well. To me, it’s important to live in a small residence in a really cool place. I live in Greenwich Village, which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in New York, with tree-lined streets, little corner stores and little boutique shops. My apartment is small, but it's not limited to that. I can get out, and I can walk and I can engage with the bigger community. If I want a cup of coffee, I can go out and get one and be back in my apartment in less than two minutes.

When you created your Katrina Cottage designs, why did you specify James Hardie siding on the exterior?

It's the most appropriate material to put on the exterior of the cottages. It has the exact traditional look that we were looking for, as well as the durability that's crucial. One of the things that we were trying to do was balance safety, security and affordability with building communities and building places that look great. James Hardie was, for us, far and away the best material to balance all of those.

For more information on Marianne Cusato and Katrina Cottages, visit: http://www.cusatocottages.com/

Streetscapes Online, Volume 22 <