The Challenge

Create a handsome multi-function housing complex within a strict budget. The client was a non-profit charitable housing organization that needed a completely affordable 220 unit complex that also included a large senior center, offices, a day care center, two fitness centers, a pool, and two community rooms. Their budget only allowed for a cost of $220/SF which is a pretty low number.

Defining the Problem

How do we contend with so many different uses? There was strong support for the
project from a pretty well defined community. We understood this. What we didn’t understand is putting the puzzle pieces of the building together. We had to ask questions like do we separate uses completely or just visually? are there safety concerns with integrating multiple functions? What inspires the various users and why? Could the old learn from the young, and vice versa?

Research and Prototyping Methods

Research involved touring similar multifunction projects. We visited many projects with similar program complexities. Some rules started to surface from our visits:
• Older people appear stimulated by the visual movement of children, but not the sound of children
• When uses are transparent andaccessible, they seem to attract more people
• Workout rooms seem to get used more when they are close to laundries
• When working out, people like to look out but don’t like being looked at.

The Results

We followed the success and avoided the pitfalls. From what we observed in other
projects, we tried the good parts in ours. For instance, both laundry rooms are adjacent to laundry rooms. These rooms are high up in the project and have beautiful vistas of the hills. Children and seniors are close by visually but are separated by a glass wall. Activity stays in. Annoying noises stay out. Furthermore, maybe outside of our testing, we went for it with the paint. In fact, paint had to be one our methods to look beautiful with a budget so low. Time will tell if this succeeds, but critics seem to think so. It’s won numerous awards including a national AIA award for low-income housing.

My Role

I was the project manager for the project starting with the design development phase and ending nearly
four years later at the completion of construction. My tasks included design and detailing of the entire project, layout of the spaces, presentation drawings , client coordination , consultant coordination, and contractor coordination.