DESIGN CHALLENGE

Design a building on a 0.5 acre parcel of land in an existing urban neighborhood of triple decker buildings.

DESIGN APPROACH

The site for this project was a vacant lot with a dilapidated building on it. Our Not-For-Profit community based client had a mission of developing housing in areas of need – providing both new affordable housing and also lifting up the surrounding area in the process. Our firm is guided by a very strong sense of contextual design and we would always look first at the surrounding neighborhood for design cues. The area consisted primarily of triple decker buildings and we accordingly used this form as our guiding model. In order to provide 23 units on such a small parcel, we designed a 4 story elevator building that stepped in and out in such a way that it broke down the massing of the large single building into the approximate massing of three adjacent triple decker buildings. We also designed the exterior with a variety of siding types using cementitious clapboards and panels to create a diversity in the building façade to further reflect on the nature of the surrounding buildings. The result of these design efforts is a building that improves the appearance of the neighborhood and complements the existing buildings.