A young architect who got her start designing houses in I’On during the neighborhood’s infant years is fast becoming one of the industry’s rising stars. While working for high-end New York architectural firm Fairfax & Sammons, Marianne Cusato collaborated with Simonini Builders on three of I’On’s first homes.  That was several years ago. Today, you can walk into just about any Lowe’s in America and order one of Cusato’s Katrina Cottages, a much-acclaimed series of tiny houses she designed to be sold as a kit. Created for hurricane victims, the compact designs are noted for their historical detailing.  It all came about in 2005 when renowned architect and I’On planner Andres Duany, with whom Cusato had been consulting, convened a group of architects for a charrette in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.  “From the moment the storm happened, I thought, what can I do?” says the 32-year-old Cusato, now based in New York. “Andres set a challenge. We had to come up with an alternative to the FEMA trailer. From there, it just grew. I knew this was exactly what I needed to be working on.”  The shippable homes are reaching well beyond the emergency housing market to become vacation homes, in-law units and guest houses. Available at Lowe’s, Cusato’s Katrina Cottages include everything needed to build a house from the foundation up, from studs and electrical wiring to appliances and paint. Prices for the 308- to 936-square-foot cottages start at about $27,000. 

“People respond to the cottages because, aesthetically, they’re something they can identify with,” she says. “I think people naturally understand and like the design. They’re also affordable and easy to navigate. We’ve done all the specifying, and the complete house arrives in seven or eight packages. These cottages fill a market niche that’s not being served right now.” In fact, the New York Times recently predicted that her cottages might become as popular as post-WWII Levittown houses.  Her next venture also aims to make things simpler and more accessible, but in another arena. Cusato is collaborating with British architect Leon Krier, whom she met through Duany, on a soon-to-be-released book, “Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid.”  “It helps articulate what details are different and why it matters, why a house does or doesn’t look or feel right,” says Cusato. “It’s about speaking the language of architecture; we all know the vocabulary, but we don’t know the grammar.”  Some of the subject matter was influenced by her many conversations with Rick Mullin of Simonini Builders. “I started working on this book while I was working on I’On projects,” says Cusato. “Rick was a big help. He looked over drafts and provided insight and a builder’s point of view.  He’s a great contractor who brings a lot to the table, as does Macky Hill.” Hill, design coordinator for I’On, worked with Cusato frequently during her time with Simonini. “It was fascinating to watch how fast she grasped the concepts and was able to adapt to designing streetscapes,” he recalls. “She was a natural.  It’s very rare that people understand which rules of architecture can be broken and which ones can be bent, and she does.”  I’On was a great chance to collaborate with like minds, says Cusato, because the neighborhood was more than a collection of houses and roads from the start. “As a designer, it’s great to work for a place that cares about building a bigger picture than just a bunch of individual things, more than just homes,” she says.  “That’s especially appropriate for Charleston, one of America’s most iconographic old cities, with its existing precedent,” says Cusato. “I’On is proof of the theory that you can’t build like that anymore is just not true. The new construction is on par with what was already there. I’On proved that you can do it again.”  Cusato, whose firm Marianne Cusato Associates is based in New York, recently had a chance to revisit her work in I’On. “The neighborhood is looking great; the older parts are starting to feel worn,” she says of her visit. “Like old neighborhoods, the more houses it gets, the more people – the better and richer it gets. It’s getting a little ‘dirty’ – authentic places are a little dirty. Years and age in a place make it feel authentic, lived in.”  The young upstart left her mark on more than just I’On’s streets. She also co-designed and hand-drew the original, detailed map of I’On, which inspired the well-recognized oil painting that hangs in offices and homes throughout the neighborhood.  “It’s been rewarding, watching her grow from a young intern to a true venerable figure,” says Hill. “It was a joy to work with her and do several different houses in I’On with her. I wish I could find more architects like her!”

Filed under: I'On Village on September 6th, 2007