The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell includes the renovation and addition to an existing outdated facility. Located within close proximity to downtown Lowell, the new club will include 65,000 sq ft of space. The new design makes a strong connection with the adjacent Clemente Park and the National Historic Park Canal Parkway.
SIERRA BONITA AFFORDABLE HOUSING
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA
The mixed-use affordable housing in West Hollywood addresses a severe housing shortage for residents living with disabilities. The 70,000-square-foot program responds to the city’s mandate to maximize units on site to increase density in the city’s urban core. On a 13,000-square-foot lot in a dense urban corridor, the building contains 42 one-bedroom units arranged around a central courtyard, near commercial and retail spaces, located along Santa Monica Boulevard. Parking is provided at the subterranean levels and at grade.
LOCATION
West Hollywood, CA
PROGRAM
42 Units Mixed-Use
Residential/Commercial
SIZE
70,000 sq ft
STATUS
Completed 2012
DISTINCTIONS
American Architecture Award
National AIA Award
California AIA Award
AIA LA Residential Architecture Award
HUD Secretary's Housing Award
WUF Westside Prize
LA Architectural Award
American Planning Association Award
SEAOSC, Excellence in Structural Eng. Award
NAHRO Merit Award
Interior Design Best of Year Award
CLIENT
West Hollywood Community Housing
COLLABORATORS
City of West Hollywood
IBE, Environmental Engineers
Gilsanz Murry Steficek, Structural
Each apartment has a private front porch overlooking the courtyard garden, facilitating social interaction among the residents and offering a respite from the boulevard. Additional communal spaces are provided for the residents and for public use. A steel brace frame carves out the interior void for the courtyard to satisfy requirements for outdoor space allotment. The design of the eccentric brace frame core is essential to the project and seen as a five-story
lattice in the courtyard. The geometry of the frame is used as a pattern for the north and south facades of the building. The structure demonstrates one of the city’s values of environmental responsibility and its commitment to green building and sustainable design, serving as a pilot project for the Green Building Ordinance, as well.
Passive solar design strategies include: a north-south orientation for the units, positioning the building to control solar cooling loads, orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds, designing windows to maximize daylight, minimizing west-facing glazing, and designing units to maximize natural ventilation. Photovoltaic panels integrated into the facade and roof supply most of the peak-load electricity demand, while serving as a trellis for shading the rooftop decks. A solar hydronic system provides residents with free hot water. The bamboo forest in the inner courtyard creates a cooling microclimate.
