In Venice, Calif., the recently completed Rose Apartments provides affordable housing to young people who age out of youth facilities and often end up living on the street.
Designed by Brooks + Scarpa, the four-story, 35-unit mixed-use apartment building will house transitional aged youths. The LEED Gold building also will provide affordable housing for “poor and disadvantaged populations in an affluent area of town where low-wage workers are critical but unable to afford to live,” according to the design firm’s press statement. By including affordable housing for transitional aged youths, the developer and design team could take advantage of California legislation that allows for increased height and density.
The building is designed around an elevated courtyard above ground-level commercial space. This courtyard typology, which has existed in Los Angeles for over a century, aims to promote pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. For people living around the courtyard, the quasi-public space provides a sense of safety and privacy.
Rose Apartments is situated across the street from a grocery store, laundromat, and other amenities, so that residents won’t need to own cars. The structure is also blocks away from the beach.
Like many other traditional courtyard structures, Rose Apartments uses exterior cement plaster as the main exterior material. But Rose’s walls are scalloped to create depth, relief, and texture—which affordable housing projects often don’t have, the design firm says. The exterior walls also include surface-applied sparkle grain, which makes the facade shimmer. In bright sunlight, the facade quickly turns soft and silver.
On the building team:
Owner and developer: Venice Community Housing
Design architect: Brooks + Scarpa
Architect of record: Brooks + Scarpa
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing: Breen Engineering
Structural and civil engineer: Labib Funk
General contractor: Walton Construction
Construction manager: AMJ Construction Management
Related Stories
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 15, 2014
Gen-Y-focused multifamily development under way in L.A.
The new urban residential community at 1001 S. Olive Street will offer open floor plans consisting of 64 studios, 109 one bedroom units, and 28 two-bedroom units, ranging in size from approximately 500 sq ft to 1,100 sq ft.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 3, 2014
Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.
