We are urban designers and architects who believe in the transformative power of beautiful, sustainable, walkable communities for all.
Missing Middle Housing
Walkable, attainable communities people love to call home
Opticos principal Daniel Parolek inspired a new movement for housing choice in 2010 when he introduced the concept of the “missing middle” in American housing. Today, Opticos creates innovative architectural designs to help build walkable communities with unique, diverse housing choices that are attainable for all.
Zoning codes for
people-centered places
Opticos is a world leader in zoning reform for walkable, sustainable communities. We didn’t create form-based coding, but we’ve been trailblazers in the field for more than 20 years. We are experts in understanding how the form of buildings will shape community spaces, and we can simplify the process of introducing form-based codes with a predictable build-out.
We Can Help By
Featured Projects
Daybreak Mews Homes™
South Jordan, Utah
Town Square and Beachfront Master Plan
Seaside, Florida
Citywide Place Types Strategy and Form-Based Code
Cincinnati, Ohio
Prairie Queen Missing Middle Neighborhood
Omaha, Nebraska
Think Big, Think Small
Richmond, California
Sustainable Growth Strategy and Code
Akanda, Gabon, Africa
Multijurisdictional Place Types & Coding Strategy
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Upper Missing Middle Terrace Housing
Washington, District of Columbia
Citywide Place Types Strategy and Form-Based Code
Cincinnati, Ohio
Think Big, Think Small
Richmond, California
Sustainable Growth Strategy and Code
Akanda, Gabon, Africa
Multijurisdictional Place Types & Coding Strategy
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Daybreak Mews Homes™
South Jordan, Utah
Town Square and Beachfront Master Plan
Seaside, Florida
Prairie Queen Missing Middle Neighborhood
Omaha, Nebraska
Sustainable Growth Strategy and Code
Akanda, Gabon, Africa
Recent Awards
FBCI Driehaus Form-Based Code Award
Nashville Downtown Code
Nashville, TN
National APA Pierre L’Enfant International Planning Achievement Award
Akanda Masterplan and SmartCode
Libreville, Gabon, Africa
Caltrans Excellence in Transportation Award: Highway as Main Street
Highway as a Main Street
Mono County, CA
Latest From Opticos
On the boards:What we're working on
Form-Based Code Analysis
Iowa City, Iowa
RiverHouse Cottage Court
Healdsburg, California
Downtown Visioning & Form-Based Code
Rohnert Park, California
Prairie Queen Missing Middle Neighborhood
Omaha, Nebraska
Why Form and Scale Matter in the Missing Middle Housing Conversation
Lately, we’ve noticed people using the term “Missing Middle Housing” solely in an economic sense, to refer to the lack of attainable housing for middle income households. And while Missing Middle Housing is an excellent solution for middle income households, form, scale and context are also critical attributes. So, why do these matter?
Designing a Missing Middle Plan for Small Infill Sites: The Art of Creating Value and a Sense of Place on a Two-to-Five Acre Site, Part 2
In our previous post showing how we design Missing Middle Housing for small sites, we reviewed some initial steps, including conceptual studies for a small site master plan in Novato, California. Now, we’re going to look at the steps we took to refine the preferred alternative into something ready for entitlement.
“Making Room” and Constructing Change with the National Building Museum
Opticos Design is honored to have partnered with the National Building Museum and Metcalfe Architecture & Design to utilize our housing expertise, particularly at the Missing Middle Housing scale, to design an interactive element of a timely new exhibit, “Making Room: Housing for a Changing America,” on view now at the National Building Museum through September 2018.