American Middle Grounds by Martin Hättasch Winner of the MCH + TC cuadernos Grant 2024-25
The Master in Collective Housing MCH, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid UPM + Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, together with TC Cuadernos, present the results of the 2024/25 call for the publication of a book in collective housing and city:
"American Middle Grounds" by Martin Hättasch
In this edition, the thesis American Middle Grounds by Martin Hättasch was selected as the winner of the scholarship dedicated to the support, publication, and dissemination of research on Collective Housing and the city.
This recognition highlights the relevance of American Middle Grounds within contemporary discussions on urban living and shared housing models.
Chosen by an international jury, American Middle Grounds stood out among more than 30 candidates from around the world for its innovative approach and academic contribution.
The jury panel was composed of:
- Dr. José María de Lapuerta Montoya – MCH Director. / Professor representing the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid UPM.
- Camilo Meneses Ferrada – MCH Manager. / Member of the UPM master’s team. Architect .
- Dr. Elli Mosayebi – MCH Co-Director. / Professor representing the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich ETH.
- José Miguel Rubio – TC Cuadernos, Director. / Representative of the TC Cuadernos publishing house.
- Dr. Fernando Altozano – MCH Housing Practice Specialty Leader. / An outstanding professional in the housing area.
- Architects Justo Díaz and Guillermo Pozo – Padd Estudio. / Winners of the last edition of this competition.
About American Middle Grounds
The central premise of American Middle Grounds is that North American modernism has already produced a significant body of projects and ideas that remain largely overlooked in current housing debates and therefore deserve renewed attention. This research repositions American Middle Grounds as a key framework for understanding alternative housing models within the North American context.
Contrary to common assumptions, the legacy explored in American Middle Grounds cannot be reduced to narratives of “failed” public housing nor dismissed as a mere transplantation of European modernist models. Instead, it reveals a distinct and evolving architectural and urban tradition.
Spanning from the post–World War II period to the present, American Middle Grounds presents a series of projects that propose denser and more diverse alternatives to the single-family suburb. These developments respond to specifically American conditions, including the dominance of the automobile, the industrialization of housing production, the rise of urban enclaves, the influence of private developers, and the adaptation of housing typologies to the lifestyles and aspirations of the American middle class.
By balancing economy, sustainability, and community, the projects analyzed in American Middle Grounds offer valuable insights into how these typologies can contribute to addressing today’s housing crisis and shaping more resilient urban futures.
More about Martin Hättasch
Martin Hättasch is a German architect whose work explores the intersection of architecture and urbanism, with a focus on housing and monumentality. He holds degrees from the Technische Universität Braunschweig and Princeton University, where he was a DAAD fellow.
Registered as an architect in the Netherlands, Hättasch has practiced in Europe and the U.S., and contributed to urban planning initiatives such as the redevelopment of the former Home Depot site in Austin. His work has been published in The Plan Journal, Architect Magazine, and Thresholds.
He has taught at Rice, Syracuse, and the University of Texas at Austin, where he currently teaches design studios, theory seminars, and housing-related electives. His studio “A Home is Not a House” won the 2018 Architect Magazine Studio Prize, and he received the 2022 ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award.
Author: Camilo Meneses. MCH Manager