Architecture that roots itself quietly in the neighborhood fabric. Denser than a house, more human than a tower — the vital middle ground that healthy cities are built upon.
The understory of a forest is where the most diverse, adaptive life takes hold — sheltered by the canopy above, rooted in the ground below. This collection borrows that metaphor for housing: the missing middle as a quiet, resilient layer of the city.
"These typologies are not monuments. They are neighbors."
Each design asks how a building can increase density without announcing itself — how it can offer more people a place in an established neighborhood without displacing what makes that neighborhood worth living in.
The Understory Collection is an ongoing study — a living document of typologies, ideas, and built experiments in the space between the house and the tower. Developed in collaboration between Saltus Ventures and Knighton Architecture + Planning.
Each entry examines a distinct typology — its form, density, social character, and its relationship to the street and neighborhood it calls home.
Studio Cottage
A compact studio cottage that tucks a full living experience into the footprint of a large garage — a starter home, a downsizer's landing spot, or gentle infill on an oversized lot.
1 Bed Cottage
A one-bedroom cottage that stretches upward rather than outward, fitting a complete two-story home onto a 14-foot-wide footprint — a genuine private dwelling on a sliver of land.
Studio Cottage
The simplest expression of a home — a single-story studio cottage that sits lightly on the ground with no stairs, no complexity, and no wasted space. The most affordable unit in the collection.
2 Bed Cottage
A two-bedroom cottage that stretches its narrow 14-foot width across two full stories, achieving the room count of a family home without demanding more than a lane-width of lot frontage.
3 Bed Cottage
A three-bedroom cottage that steps up to a wider footprint, offering the space and layout of a conventional family home at a scale that still fits comfortably on a modest lot.
3 Bed Cottage
A three-bedroom cottage that stretches deeper into its lot to carve out generous living spaces — quiet single-family living that sits politely alongside smaller neighbors.
3 Bed Cottage
The largest single-family cottage in the collection, offering three bedrooms across nearly 1,900 square feet of living space spread over two stories — generous enough for a growing family.
2 Bed + ADU Cottage
A two-bedroom cottage paired with an accessory dwelling unit on a single lot — two independent homes that share land and infrastructure while maintaining complete privacy from one another.
2 Bed Cottage
The standalone sibling of the Sedge + ADU — a two-bedroom cottage without the secondary suite, ready for a generous garden, future infill, or simply the luxury of unbuilt space.
2 Bed Duplex
A side-by-side duplex that mirrors the massing of a single-family detached house while doubling the homes on one lot — each two-bedroom unit reads as its own complete home from the street.
2 Bed Duplex
A duplex that pairs two homes on a wider lot, giving each unit more generous proportions — separate entrance, separate outdoor space, achieving density without compromise.
5 Bed Cottage
A five-bedroom cottage for households that need real room — a large or multigenerational family, a co-living arrangement, or anyone who has simply outgrown the standard three-bedroom box.
3 Bed + Garage
A three-bedroom cottage with an attached garage — room for the family, the car, and everything in between, all in a two-story home that sits comfortably on a standard lot.
2 Bed Cottage
A two-bedroom cottage that makes the most of an 18-foot-wide footprint across two stories — a complete and comfortable home that fits neatly into a side yard or infill lot.
1 Bed Cottage
A compact single-story one-bedroom cottage — everything you need, nothing you don't. At 900 square feet it is an ideal fit for a single occupant, a couple, or anyone ready to trade square footage for simplicity.