The stereotypical American dream may be a house surrounded by a picket fence, but the reality is that new housing in dense urban areas like metropolitan Seattle increasingly means multifamily projects. Count among them apartments, condominiums and cottages, which make more efficient use of scarce land, helping to contain sprawl and retain prized open areas.

The sixth annual Seattle Times/American Institute of Architects multifamily design tour, called Housing the Northwest, showcases some of these projects. Each of the six highlighted here will have at least one unit open to the public today (Sunday) only from noon to 5 p.m.

Architects Lisa Kennan-Meyer and Caroline Kreiser co-chaired this year's Housing the Northwest program. They said the goal is to provide the community with a progress report on how our area is addressing housing needs.

Four judges selected the featured projects from among 16 submitted by local architects. The judges were architect Paul Olson, of Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects; Vikram Prakash, associate dean of the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning; real-estate developer Peter Erickson, whose Belltown Lofts project was featured last year; and associate AIA member Karen DeLucas of Geise Architects.

Live/Work Lofts

1310 E. Union St., Seattle.

Size: Eight condominiums.

Architects: David Miller, Kurt Stolle and Lene Copeland of Miller/Hull Partnership.

Developer: Dunn and Hobbes LLC.

Builder: Turner Construction.

This building occupies a very small Capitol Hill site. Thus the only way to go was up, which the architects did, building to 65 feet — the maximum allowed by zoning. This gained light and city views.

The condominiums vary in size from 700 to 1,600 square feet. The north and south sides of the building are fully glazed from floor to ceiling to allow for maximum light and to bring in the outdoors.

Glass and aluminum-frame garage doors roll up, converting the living and dining spaces to exterior usage. Parking is provided; there is a public roof deck, and some units have private roof terraces. The cost: $259,000 to $799,000 per unit. Half are sold. What the judges said: This is a generous gift to the world of architecture. It brings housing to the public that's high end, architectural and exquisite.