{"id":388,"date":"2026-04-10T02:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/?p=388"},"modified":"2026-04-10T02:05:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:05:24","slug":"classic-configuration-for-urban-row-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/2026\/04\/10\/classic-configuration-for-urban-row-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"Classic Configuration for Urban “Row Houses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The architectural drawing is a classic configuration for urban “row houses”<\/strong> or narrow-lot townhomes<\/strong>. While many architects utilize this layout, it is most famously associated with the “New American Townhouse”<\/strong> movement and specific historic styles like the London Terrace<\/strong> or New York Brownstone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b1. Alexander Gorlin’s “Parallel Walls”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u200bArchitect Alexander Gorlin<\/strong> is well-known for his modern take on the townhouse. He published a book titled The New American Townhouse<\/em> and designed several projects where the first floor is dedicated to a garage and a foyer\/doorway<\/strong>, while the living spaces are elevated to the second and third floors to provide privacy from the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b2. The “Five-Plex” Urban Model<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u200bIn modern development, this is often called a 5-Plex<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • \u200bThe Layout:<\/strong> Each of the five units is vertical.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u200bFirst Floor:<\/strong> Often contains a single-car garage<\/strong> and a small entry vestibule<\/strong> (doorway) with a staircase leading up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u200bSecond Floor:<\/strong> Typically the “public” floor, containing the kitchen, dining, and living area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u200bThird Floor:<\/strong> The “private” floor, containing the bedrooms and bathrooms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    \u200b3. The 5-over-1 Concept (Related)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    \u200bWhile usually refers to larger apartment blocks, the “Five-over-One” style (pioneered by architect Tim Smith<\/strong>) influenced the way wood-framed multi-unit housing is built over a concrete “pedestal” or garage level. In a smaller townhouse context, this translates to the “garage-on-bottom” design you mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u200bKey Architectural Characteristics<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    \u200bIf you are trying to identify a specific blueprint from a plan-selling site (like Architectural Designs<\/em> or Houseplans.com<\/em>), this configuration is frequently categorized as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • \u200bNarrow Lot Townhouse:<\/strong> Designed for widths between 15 and 25 feet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u200bRear-Loading or Front-Loading Garage:<\/strong> Depending on whether the garage entrance and the front door are on the same side.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u200bTuck-Under Garage:<\/strong> This is the technical term for a garage that is built into the first floor of the living structure rather than being attached to the side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The architectural drawing is a classic configuration for urban “row houses” or narrow-lot townhomes. While many architects utilize this layout, it is most famously associated with the “New American Townhouse”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builders","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions\/393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gonencorp.com\/builders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}