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
Multifamily Housing | Jul 29, 2020
San Francisco’s Millennium Tower fix approved, moving forward
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger will be the engineer-of-record for the fix.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 27, 2020
Putting 'home' at the heart of affordable housing
Home is a powerful thing. It’s the place that forms you, a guiding set of relationships, memories, and experiences that, for better or worse, make you who you are.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 20, 2020
Abandoned 15-story high-rise becomes mixed-use luxury apartment building
Kimmich Smith Architecture designed the project.
Coronavirus | Jul 20, 2020
Student housing amid the pandemic, infection control in buildings, and future airport design on "The Weekly"
Experts from Core Spaces, Bala Consulting Engineers, and Populous were interviewed in the July 23 streaming program from Horizon TV.
Mixed-Use | Jul 14, 2020
Apartments and condos occupy what was once a five-story car dealership
Wisznia | Architecture+Development designed, developed, and is managing the project.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 7, 2020
AEMSEN develops concept for sustainable urban living
The concept has been created for the redevelopment of the lots on the Barbizonlaan in Capelle aan den IJssel.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 29, 2020
New affordable housing development comes to the Bay Area
The two phase project will provide 100 affordable units total.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 23, 2020
11 tips on how to install EV charging stations in multifamily housing
A top sustainability expert gives the whys and wherefores of installing electric vehicle charging posts in your next multifamily enterprise.
Coronavirus | Jun 19, 2020
Experts address COVID-19's impact on nursing homes and schools on The Weekly
The June 18 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Senior Living Design | Jun 11, 2020
COVID-19: An "outdoor living room" for senior living residents to safely visit with their families
Aegis Living creates a plexiglass-wrapped outdoor space for residents to sit while visiting with family members.