The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-24
HOUSING PROBLEM
 IS BEING SOLVED
Modern Ideas Being Used in Fairfield to Meet Needs of
 the Situation

The housing problem confronting an
 industrial community is being solved
 at Fairfield.
 This question has troubled Birming-
 ham for many years, but Robert Jemi- son, Jr, of the Jemison Real Estate and Insurance company and the Fair
 field Land company, is graphing with it, and is of the opinion that 1t is now being overcome by the erection of sev- eral unit houses built on the terrace plan" and family apartment houses ar Fairfield.
 Contracts already let provide for the construction at Fairfield of one four family apartment house. and for the erection of two five-room dwelling houses. The plans for these houses were devised jointly by Ruffin A. Smith, mahager of the Fairfield Land company, and Hugh Martin, of the architects. Miller & Martin. Before de- ciding upon the plans for the dwell ings, which are said to give a maxi
 mum of conveniences at a minimum of space and for a moderate cost, the two made a detailed investigation.
 MT. Smith was peculiarly fitted to deal with the housing problem as he was in the employ of the Rickert- Fin lay Real Estate company in New York for several years, before coming to Birmingham in November. Together with Hugh Martin, he went to New York and for a month viewed the most modern houses, in industrial communi- ties. After the research, the two con- sidered the problem at length as condi- tions in Fairfield are different in an economic sense and the climatic con ditions necessitated other changes. As result the Fairfield Land com pany is now erecting one four-family apartment, built on the unit or tier race plan. These apartments, which consist of four rooms each, are made of "Fisklock" brick which is manu- faetured by the Stephenson Brick company at Lovick. This is new patented brick, and has the additional features of being fireproof, moisture proof and with a two-inch horizontal
 airspace, giving insulation against heat, cold and moisture.
 The design of the apartment house and the unit dwellings, is square, and provides for. all outside rooms. It gives a maximum of lighting and ven tilation.
 "The housing problem seems to be SElNeu, Sdiu NIT. JenllSOi yesterday. We have been endeavoring for sew
 eral years to build houses at Fairfield
 that would bring a low rental, but
 have all the modern conveniences and
 facilities. There is not vacant house in Fairfield now, and inasmuch as more are needed, we have determined
 to build substantial, attractive and modern houses.
 "We have let contracts for one four family apartment house and two five room dwellings. In the future this
 development will be continued. It is the present intention to build six or eight more of two kinds of three to six-room units, on the group plan, and
 about four family apartment houses, with four to six rooms to the apart ment We are very well pleased with our experiments. MT. Smith is regarded as an authority on the matter of hous- ing, and Mir Martin has made a rather lextensive study of dwellings suitable for an industrial community, such as Fairfield is"
 During the next year more than $150,000 will be spent in building houses of the modern type