Case Studies in New Classical & Traditional Design: Neighborhoods of Affordable Housing

Unique approaches to developing affordable housing in varied contexts across the country

By ICAA

May 27, 2026

The Case Studies in New Classical & Traditional Design series explores the design and execution of new contemporary classical and traditional work from the practitioner’s perspective. Each session explores a unique project or building type to demystify the complexities of how challenging projects successfully come together.

This installment of the series explores design strategies implemented by past winners of the Gindroz Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing: the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB), honored in 2022, and Union Studio, honored in 2023.

In their presentations, Rob Fredericks, Executive Director and CEO of HACSB, and Christine Pierron, Partner at the Santa Barbara-based Cearnal Collective, speak about how they planned and built affordable housing units in Santa Barbara, a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country. Donald Powers, Founding Partner at Union Studio in Providence, Rhode Island, explains why he made affordable housing a key pillar of his firm's work, and shares practical solutions for how to get housing built faster and more affordably.

The lectures were presented at the inaugural Gindroz Award Symposium on Affordable Housing, a half-day event that brought together past recipients of the Gindroz Award for a series of lectures and panel discussions. This is the second recording from the event, following Learning from Nansledan. The last portion of the event, Excellence in the Design of Affordable Housing, included a panel discussion with all of the featured winners, and closing remarks from the award's namesake, Ray Gindroz.

Learning Objectives

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Prerequisites

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AIA Continuing Education Provider Information

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Course Delivery Type: On-Demand e-learning Program

Program Level: Introductory

AIA CES Program Approval Expiration Date: May 14, 2028

Provider Number: G193

Provider Statement: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number G193. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ([email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.