Design advocates have been trying for years to convince people that good design is not a luxury. Recently, they succeeded in convincing the hardest of all sells: financiers and developers.

One beneficiary of their salesmanship is a development of 17 infill houses in East Liberty, one of three in the state chosen to participate in a project of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, or PHFA, and three design centers.

The collaboration is part of a one-time pilot project to reward best-design proposals from a $1.5 million fund the agency set up this year.

Jason Vrabel, the funding director for the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, said the other participants are in Carlisle, Cumberland County, and in Philadelphia.

He said the design groups' intent was to bring design permanently into the mix of criteria agencies consider when choosing projects to invest in.

Robert F. Bobincheck, PHFA's director of strategic planning and policy, said it would be.

The state's largest funder of affordable housing, PHFA was ready for some fresh ideas.

"We encouraged architects to put a little more forth," said Mr. Bobincheck. "We are encouraging design features [that promote] less maintenance, more efficiency and longevity of the housing."

Mr. Vrabel said developers of affordable housing traditionally have resisted high-quality design because it either takes space from extra units or costs more in some materials.

"Giving up quality for an extra unit is a big mistake," said Mr. Vrabel. "Urban renewal should have taught us a lesson, that lots and lots of 'decent' housing is just decent and never any better. Good design elevates the experience" of the property user.

Good design is still more art than science, said Beth Miller, executive director of the Community Design Collaborative in Philadelphia. Its four tenets are that well-designed housing meets the user's needs, responds to the surrounding context, enhances the neighborhood and is built to last.

East Liberty's proposal was a collaboration of East Liberty Development Inc.; S&A Homes, a developer based in State College; two architecture firms; and the city of Pittsburgh.

Moss Architects and Pfaffmann + Associates each designed two custom prototypes, each with two facades to choose from and two floor plans, including one with a courtyard. The resulting prototypes meet and exceed federal energy standards and can be duplicated relatively cheaply.

The local engineering firm IBACOS helped design air-tight wall systems, tested materials for durability and formulated how many windows each design would need for maximum efficiency, said Erik Hokanson, lead designer for Pfaffmann + Associates. Facade options include cement board panels and wood siding panels.

Prices will range from $184,000 to $270,000, and the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority will offer deferred second mortgages to buyers who earn less than $66,000 a year. Ground will be broken this fall on the first sites on North Euclid Street.

Although the costs come in above what many people can afford, the duplication of the prototypes over time is expected bring down the costs.

Mr. Hokanson said the impetus was "to bring good design to the masses with a custom house that doesn't have to be custom made each time.

"In a 10-year period, there may be 150 of these houses in the area."