Hypostruction: Life without Drywall
by Ted Caplow, PhD
Miami is already the wettest big city in America, and ground zero for the impacts of global warming in the United States. The decades ahead will bring rising seas and a changing climate. At Caplow Manzano, we believe these conditions create a strong and clear opportunity for adaptation, by which all successful species survive. We believe in the future of Miami.
After six years of tearing apart conventional notions of what should be inside a home, we have developed a design philosophy that we call hypostruction.
Hypostruction (the Greek word for “less” plus the Latin word for “building”) describes our reductionist approach to design: build more with less.
We analyze the typical modern home from the inside out and remove everything that appears to be unnecessary, harmful, or susceptible to rapid decay. We find that about 20% of the space inside most homes is lost to voids above the ceiling and inside the walls, and these voids harbor dust, mold, pests, and chemicals that may be harmful to our health.
We believe that people, if they had a choice, do not wish to share a confined space, nor raise their families, surrounded by these potential hazards.
Many of these issues stem from the ubiquitous use of hollow walls and ceilings, built of metal or wood studs, sheathed in paper-backed gypsum wallboard, and coated with additional layers of tape and plaster. This assembly, called “drywall,” dominates residential construction.
Drywall is fragile, prone to moisture damage, decay, and mold. As a result, drywall is particularly ill-suited to the urban tropics, where humidity, frequent rain, and high winds all conspire to introduce moisture inside the home. Once damaged, these cavity walls are difficult to upgrade or replace, reducing the useful life of the entire home. Inside the walls, we often find fiberglass insulation, which degrades when wet, and a spaghetti of pipes, wires, and air-conditioning ducts - each of which represents another source of long-term problems for people living in the home.
Hypostruction emphasizes “opening up” the inside of the home so that more durable, less chemically volatile materials such as concrete, metal, and glass for the surroundings of the living area. Plumbing, electrical, and air conditioning systems are creatively re-imagined in a hypostruction home, discouraging unnecessary ductwork, eliminating inefficient horizontal plumbing runs, and rationalizing the orientation of bathrooms, kitchens, and other wet areas. Insulation is shifted into the walls, where it is less likely to become a health problem (and in many cases, boosting energy efficiency as well).
Another benefit of hypostruction: the critical infrastructure of the modern home becomes much easier to access, repair, or upgrade without destruction of the walls or ceiling. The result is a healthier home that feels larger inside, is easier to maintain, and lasts longer.
Hypostruction is a form of people-first placemaking, which is why Caplow Manzano is pleased to have joined the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL for Residential pilot program. At Caplow Manzano, we believe that health has always been the most important driver of real estate value.