Architecture Firm Is Giving Away A Free House In Every City It Works

By Ell Ko, 28 Jul 2021

Image via Moody Nolan

In Columbus, a house built by architecture firm Moody Nolan stands in the Linden neighborhood with the title of Legacy House. It’s the first in a planned series of modern homes for single families who live in underserved neighborhoods, which are provided mortgage-free.

Named the Legacy Project, the houses are supported by community donations in materials and time, and built by construction partners. For this house, in particular, the land was donated by the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority while the firm’s partners at Central Ohio’s YMCA assisted in choosing the family the house went to.

Planned as an annual gift, Moody Nolan will design and oversee the construction of a house in each one of the 12 communities where it operates.

Houses span approximately 750sqft, a size which includes three bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a family room. There’s also an outdoor area, which can be used for furnishings and activities, maximizing the site’s space.

“There are many hardworking families whose incomes may not qualify them for a home mortgage but who are fully capable and committed to maintaining one,” explains Curtis Moody, CEO of Moody Nolan. “We want to begin a process of giving back to the community in a direct and tangible way—providing a superior example of affordable housing.”

CEO and president Jonathon Moody acknowledges that relying on companies to gift products isn’t the ideal ultimate solution to housing challenges and shortages nationwide. Instead, the firm hopes to inspire others to reconsider their own manners of giving, and encourage national and local policymakers to find innovative, larger-scale solutions to the housing shortage problem.

With the Legacy Project, it aims to provide “a viable template for others to follow,” placing the future and continual expansion of this idea in others’ hands.