The office of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced the launch of a WXY-designed platform to streamline the building of accessory dwelling units across New York City.
Designed to promote accessory dwelling units (ADU), small infill structures on city lots, the ADU for You site is a resource organised through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for the grant-funded Plus One ADU Program.
New York City has announced a plan library to go along with a programme promoting ADUs. Top image by Situ
“One of the solutions to the housing crisis can be found in our backyards, our attics, or our basements – in an Ancillary Dwelling Unit,” said Mamdani.
“By making it easier for New Yorkers to turn their homes into an extra place for a loved one or a little more income, we’re allowing our city to grow while keeping the character of the neighborhoods we love.”
It features eight designs to be used to expand the city’s housing stock. Image by Vl Architects
It is a resumption of a plan to incorporate ADUs into expanded housing options under former mayor Eric Adams’s City of Yes initiative.
American studio WXY Architecture + Urban Design (WXY) led the branding, design, content, and web product development for the digital platform, including the development of the guidebook and Pre-Approved Plan Library, a catalogue featuring a total of ten designs from eight different architects.
These studios include Situ, VL Architects, EEREE, and more, with prices ranging from $185,000 to $450,000.
Each of the designs was sourced through a national open call that concluded in September.
25,000 of the structures were called for under a prior housing agenda. Image by EEREE
“We designed the platform to make that process as clear as possible, and to support what we think of as an architecture of care,” WXY principal Adam Lubinsky told Dezeen.
He echoed Mamdani’s comments on urbanism, saying ADUs are a “gentler form of growth that respects the character of existing neighbourhoods”.
This comes as New York City is facing a layered affordability crisis brought on by exploding rental prices.
The Mayor’s Office hopes to see its housing stock increase dramatically by 500,000 units over the next ten years.
The mayor’s office cited increase rental income and space for ageing-in-place as primary functions. Image by Unit Two Development
The platform includes a metric for establishing cost estimates, plus advice for navigating the building permits process and tailoring the units to the existing lot size.
ADUs, called ancillary dwelling units by the city, were legalised in New York City in 2024.
In total, 25,000 such units are called for under the City of Yes housing agenda, and 37 permits have been approved so far through the programme.
For years, WXY has been active in helping city officials achieve their various objectives concerning infrastructure and the built environment.
WXY Architecture + Urban Design created the platform and plan library
This includes work on the standardisation of outdoor dining shed designs for New York and a Queens visitor centre meant to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable architecture as part of the planned 1,650-residence Arverne East community.
“The throughline of our practice is that people are at the heart of everything we do. Whether we’re working on housing, infrastructure, or public space, the goal,” said Lubinsky.
“That human-centered approach is a big reason this kind of civic collaboration has remained such an important focus for the firm.”
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WXY was also recently behind a new welcoming centre reinterpretation for a visitor centre at the Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley.
Last month, Dezeen covered the completion of an all-season weathering ADU prototype designed by Francois Abbott for a private client in Toronto.
Earlier in the year, Dezeen talked to architects about the January inauguration of Mamdani as mayor of New York, with many expressing “enthusiasm” for his housing agenda and environmental commitments.