Three multifamily projects were among the 14 winners in the American Institute of Architects 2017 Housing Awards program. The jury assessed the architectural design, the integration of the buildings into their context, transportation options, and features that contribute to livable communities.
The winners:
Powerhouse carefully fits a dense cluster of 31 super-energy-efficient units into an urban block in Philadelphia. The design navigates existing fabric along a sloping site with a series of building typologies: single-family townhomes, duplexes, and two small apartment buildings. In the Philadelphia tradition of entry stoops, a sequence of entry platforms navigates grade changes, entry stairs, and basement windows. Stormwater is managed on site with green roofs and rain gardens along the curb line. All 31 units achieved LEED Platinum certification.
Hunters View Housing Blocks 5 & 6, San Francisco, designed by Paulett Taggart Architects. These two new blocks of affordable family housing are part of San Francisco’s HOPE SF program to rebuild parts of the city’s deteriorated public housing, even as the current tenants remain in the neighborhood. The design for these two city blocks organizes 53 units into two L-shaped buildings per block to form continuous street frontages and surround two secure shared courtyards. Each building contains stacked multi-level townhouses that step down with the street’s slope.
VIA 57 West, New York, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (architect) and SLCE Architects (associate architect). This pyramid-shaped, 940,012-sf residential building is 467 feet tall, with 709 apartments within 34 above-ground floors. It combines a European perimeter block and a traditional Manhattan high-rise that encompasses a 2,040-sf courtyard.
Related Stories
| Nov 11, 2014
Renzo Piano's third building at London Bridge Quarter approved, will be built adjacent to the Shard
Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been granted planning approval for its residential building at London Bridge Quarter—a 26-story apartment tower dubbed Feilden House.
| Nov 7, 2014
Arts college uses creative financing to build 493-bed student housing
Many states have cut back funding for higher education in recent years, and securing money for new housing has been tougher than ever for many colleges and universities. A recent residence hall project in Boston involving three colleges provides an inspiring example of how necessity can spawn invention in financing strategies.
| Nov 7, 2014
Prefab helps Valparaiso student residence project meet an ambitious deadline
Few colleges or universities have embraced prefabrication more wholeheartedly than Valparaiso (Ind.) University. The Lutheran-based institution completed a $27 million residence hall this past summer in which the structural elements were all precast.
| Nov 3, 2014
Novel 'self-climbing' elevator operates during construction of high-rise buildings
The JumpLift system from KONE uses a mobile machine room that moves upward as the construction progresses, speeding construction of tall towers.
| Nov 3, 2014
Cairo's ultra-green mixed-use development will be topped with flowing solar canopy
The solar canopy will shade green rooftop terraces and sky villas atop the nine-story structure.
| Oct 31, 2014
Dubai plans world’s next tallest towers
Emaar Properties has unveiled plans for a new project containing two towers that will top the charts in height, making them the world’s tallest towers once completed.
| Oct 29, 2014
Better guidance for appraising green buildings is steadily emerging
The Appraisal Foundation is striving to improve appraisers’ understanding of green valuation.
| Oct 27, 2014
Studio Gang Architects designs residential tower with exoskeleton-like exterior for Miami
Jeanne Gang's design reinvents the Florida room with shaded, asymmetrical balconies.
| Oct 21, 2014
Passive House concept gains momentum in apartment design
Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the U.S. commercial buildings market.
| Oct 21, 2014
Perkins Eastman white paper explores state of the senior living industry in the Carolinas
Among the experts interviewed for the white paper, there was a general consensus that the model for continuing-care retirement communities is changing, driven by both the changing consumers and more prevalent global interest on the effects of aging.