Affordable by Design (AxD) is a collaborative program that explores how innovation can accelerate the production of affordable housing. The core of AxD is a collection of Playbooks featuring free to use conceptual designs for efficient and affordable homes. Each Playbook was built through a community-focused design process centered on real-world development sites, but the resulting designs can be replicated in neighborhoods across the metro.
Developers, architects, policymakers, and community members are invited to use the AxD Playbooks as a starting point for their own projects, or simply as a starting point for a better conversation about the housing Omaha needs.
AFFORDABLE BY DESIGN
Design Innovation in Pursuit of Affordable Housing Solutions
Affordable by Design (AxD) is a collaborative program that explores how innovation can accelerate the production of affordable housing. The core of AxD is a collection of Playbooks featuring free to use conceptual designs for efficient and affordable homes. Each Playbook was built through a community-focused design process centered on real-world development sites, but the resulting designs can be replicated in neighborhoods across the metro.
Developers, architects, policymakers, and community members are invited to use the AxD Playbooks as a starting point for their own projects, or simply as a starting point for a better conversation about the housing Omaha needs.
More Homes by Design (2026)
More Homes by Design is a study of barriers to building the homes Omaha needs, and a toolkit of policies that can help unlock more housing across the metro. Based on data analysis, interviews with Omaha housing developers, and examples of policy innovation across the country, More Homes by Design is a roadmap to moving housing from scarcity to abundance across the metro.
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ADU at The RiverFront (2025)
ADU at The Riverfront was a housing innovation demonstration project based off of APMA’s first-place winning design in AARP and the City of Omaha’s ADU for U competition. A model ADU based on APMA's design was displayed at Heartland of America Park in the summer of 2025, bringing thousands of metro residents face-to-face with an innovative solution for age-accessible housing.
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AXD MISSING
MIDDLE PLAYBOOK (2024)
The AxD Missing Middle Playbook was produced in partnership with Holland Basham Architects and inCOMMON Community Development. This Playbook includes designs for flexible townhome, duplex, and triplex homes that can be combined and reconfigured to fill a variety of sites.
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DUPLEX BY DESIGN
(2024)
Duplex by Design is a collection of three winning designs from an AARP-sponsored competition for age-accessible duplex homes. These inspiring designs from Holland Basham Architects, Actual Architecture, and Oscar Avila, demonstrate unique approaches to creating housing that works for everyone.
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AXD HOUSING
PLAYBOOK (2022)
The first AxD Playbook is a collection of modern single-family home designs created by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture in collaboration with Seventy-Five North. A series of homes based on these designs have been built and sold as a part of Seventy-Five North’s Highlander neighborhood.
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