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
Mixed-Use | May 5, 2015
Miami ‘innovation district’ will have 6.5 million sf of dense, walkable space
Designing a neighborhood from the ground-up, developers aim to create a dense, walkable district that fulfills what is lacking from Miami’s current auto-dependent layout.
Codes and Standards | May 1, 2015
Colorado House kills construction defects bill
The legislation would have made it harder for condo owners to sue builders.
Multifamily Housing | May 1, 2015
Trade groups extend campaign to promote apartment living
The groups claim that there are more than 37 million Americans—12% of the population—living in just under 20 million apartment units nationwide. Apartments and their residents contribute $1.3 trillion annually to the economy.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 28, 2015
Masdar City: Construction on sustainable residential complex begins
The planned city’s new residences will help support Abu Dhabi’s rapid population growth.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 28, 2015
Mace and Make work on London's 40-story residential tower
The tower is one of six residential high-rises planned near London’s City Road, which is undergoing a mini construction boom.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 27, 2015
The empire strikes back: George Lucas proposes new affordable housing complex he'll finance alone
The latest plans are seen by some as payback for community opposition to his past real estate ventures.
Wood | Apr 26, 2015
Building wood towers: How high is up for timber structures?
The recent push for larger and taller wood structures may seem like an architectural fad. But Building Teams around the world are starting to use more large-scale structural wood systems.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 22, 2015
Condo developers covet churches for conversions
Former churches, many of which are sitting on prime urban real estate, are being converted into libraries, restaurants, and with greater frequency condominiums.
Green | Apr 22, 2015
AIA Committee on the Environment recognizes Top 10 Green Projects
Seattle's Bullitt Center and the University Center at The New School are among AIA's top 10 green buildings for 2015.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 16, 2015
3 award-winning affordable multifamily developments
San Francisco's Bayview Hill Gardens and the Broadway Affordable Housing complex in Santa Monica, Calif., are among the multifamily developments to be honored in AIA's 2015 Housing Awards.