Affordable Housing Gets Sexier

"Among the humble brick and vinyl suburban-style houses along Hyde Park Avenue in Roslindale, the Hyde-Blakemore Condominiums stand out.

There are the mahogany-louvered fences, the solar panels, and the flying-V roof line on the main building, which besides looking cool, channels rainwater into a landscaped rock garden.

Such modern flourishes are rare in a city that cleaves to architectural convention, but they are especially striking considering that Hyde-Blakemore was built for lower-income families. The newly completed buildings defy the tacky stereotype of government-subsidized housing, and for the architects and developers behind a new crop of affordable projects, this is the whole idea."

'Starting in the 1980s, after the big brick public housing model became invalid, these woodframe Easter egg-colored villages began appearing,' [the architect] said. 'Gradually they became more in synch with the adjacent neighborhood. What we're seeing now is a much better second generation of that.'"