SideCar Homes
CHALLENGE
Homeowners across the U.S., particularly those in housing-insecure regions, face significant challenges in building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). These challenges include high upfront costs, a complex permitting process, and a lack of ADU-specific financing options. Many homeowners are unable to navigate these obstacles without professional assistance, which adds even more costs. As a result, ADU development remains out of reach for millions of homeowners, especially those with lower incomes.
OUTCOME
Sidecar Homes provides an end-to-end solution that makes ADUs affordable and accessible by integrating financing, construction, and project management into one streamlined process. This vertical integration reduces complexity and cost, enabling even the most financially constrained homeowners to build ADUs.
Role: Project Integration Lead, Front-end Designer, Branding.
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6 months
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GSD Urban Stack Lab:
Alec Wagner, Charu Singh, Clara He, Elizabeth Christoforetti
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DESIGN RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM SPACE
Sidecar Homes conducted extensive research to understand the barriers homeowners face in ADU development, focusing on financial, operational, and regulatory challenges.
After conducting the research, all insights were synthesized using the system map framework, which highlighted the key issues, their causation, and the goals that needed to be achieved. This systems mapping approach allowed the team to explore and reveal the entangled connections between the visible factors shaping ADU development for homeowners, particularly in the context of low-energy design.
By mapping the relationships between cost, capital, and complexity, the team was able to identify the root causes of these challenges. For example, the complexity of the permitting process was found to be a major driver of high upfront costs, as homeowners often had no choice but to pay contractors to navigate the bureaucracy. Additionally, the lack of financing options was revealed to be not just a barrier to ADU construction but also a major contributor to the project’s affordability and energy efficiency.
System Map generated for Our Artificial Nature: Design Research for an Era of Environmental Change, an exhibition presented at the Druker Design Gallery.
The system map also highlighted:
Causal relationships: How one issue, such as lack of financing, creates a chain reaction that impacts other parts of the ADU development process.
Main problems: High costs, inaccessibility of capital, and the overwhelming complexity of the process.
Goals to be achieved: Simplifying the ADU development process, creating accessible financing options, and reducing costs while maintaining energy efficiency.
By visualizing these connections, the system map became a crucial tool in guiding the development of Sidecar Homes’ end-to-end solution. It informed the design strategy, ensuring that each component of the solution addressed not just the symptoms but the root causes of the challenges homeowners face.
DESIGN SOLUTION
MAIN INSIGHTS
Cost:
Homeowners are frequently forced to pay more than $5,000 upfront to hire contractors to navigate the complex ADU development process. Without sufficient capital, most must rely on out-of-pocket expenses, which makes ADU construction inaccessible for many.Capital:
Financing options for ADUs are scarce, and the few that exist are out of reach for a large portion of the population. This lack of accessible financing makes ADU development a nonviable option for many low- to moderate-income homeowners.Complexity:
The ADU development process is overwhelming, requiring homeowners to manage design, financing, construction, and rental on their own, with minimal support. There is no clear timeline or step-by-step guide for ADU development, leaving homeowners without a structured path to follow.
The insights from the research—Cost, Capital, and Complexity—were the driving factors behind the design of Sidecar Homes’ end-to-end solution. Each element of the solution was carefully crafted to address these barriers and create a more accessible pathway for homeowners to develop ADUs.
Energy-Efficient ADU Models:
Energy-efficient ADU models were designed to reduce long-term costs for homeowners by lowering utility bills and minimizing environmental impact. By offering pre-designed ADUs that are optimized for energy efficiency, Sidecar Homes eliminates the need for custom architectural designs, significantly lowering upfront costs for homeowners.
Role: Clara He and Elizabeth Christofforetti led the Architectural Design of the ADU. My role in this part was in the interior design and HCI of the house. To learn more go to this case study.
II.Innovative Financing Solutions:
One of the biggest challenges homeowners face is the lack of financing options for ADUs. To tackle this, Sidecar Homes developed innovative financing solutions tailored to the specific needs of homeowners. These solutions are designed to provide accessible financing without requiring homeowners to dip into their savings or home equity.
III. Sidecar Homes App-Simplifying the ADU Journey
Where my role was most concentrated was in the conceptualization and production of the Sidecar Homes app, which provides a streamlined user experience to help homeowners navigate the ADU process, and addresses the main insights—cost, capital, and complexity. This app serves as the central hub for homeowners, providing all the tools they need to plan, finance, and manage ADU construction in one place.
The app includes several core features aimed at making the ADU journey more intuitive and accessible:
Construction Feasibility Assessment: Through the app, homeowners can easily access the Construction Feasibility Assessment, which evaluates whether their property is suitable for an ADU. The app uses a combination of geographic information systems (GIS) data, zoning regulations, and property specifics to provide an accurate assessment. Users simply input their property details, and the app generates a clear report indicating the feasibility of ADU construction on their land.
Shown here are two versions of the feature, demonstrating the progress from initial wireframes to polished mock-ups. As the design evolved, we integrated branding elements and enhanced the user interface with improved visuals and a more intuitive layout, ensuring a seamless and accessible experience for users.
The Smart Apply for Permits and Financing feature is a core part of the dashboard, guiding homeowners step-by-step through the permitting process, offering ready-to-use templates, and ensuring all regulatory requirements are easily met. Additionally, users can explore financing options tailored to ADU projects and apply for funding directly through the platform. This comprehensive dashboard simplifies the ADU development journey, making it easier for users to navigate both permitting and financing with confidence.
This mock-up illustrates the evolution from two initial wireframe screens into one cohesive and intuitive dashboard. The process involved condensing multiple steps into a streamlined user interface, combining all necessary features into one accessible view.
UX/UI Challenges
As part of the user research, we conducted workshops with the community of Mattapan to better understand how to design financial strategies that would specifically benefit that population. Our goal was to simplify complex financial tools such as subsidies, loans, and interest rates, making them more accessible and understandable for users.
During these workshops, we provided participants with building blocks to visually represent their financial options. The participants were asked to metaphorically "stack" these elements, allowing them to visualize how different financial components could work together. This hands-on approach revealed a key insight: users were able to grasp the relationships between financial tools much more easily when presented in a tangible, interactive format.
This observation led to the realization that we could translate this physical representation into a digital environment. By reflecting this conceptual understanding in the UX/UI design of the app, we aimed to create a user-friendly interface that mirrors the way users naturally think about financial processes. The stacking metaphor became the foundation for the interface design, making it easier for users to explore and understand their financial options without feeling overwhelmed by technical jargon or complex calculations.
Stack Tool Sketches: These sketches materialize the stacking metaphor that emerged from our workshops with users, where financial options were visualized through building blocks. The sketches represent our team's efforts to translate this interactive concept into a digital tool, simplifying the way users engage with subsidies, loans, and interest rates.
By applying the metaphor of stacking, users can more easily and intuitively understand the various financial tools they would be applying. The app’s dashboard provides an overview of their accumulated interest rates, applicable subsidies, and the estimated time needed to pay off their ADU construction loan or rent. Additionally, users can activate a 'rental scenario' feature, allowing them to offset these interest rates against an estimated monthly rental income, helping them visualize how rental earnings could contribute to paying off their financial obligations.
