Seeking to add density to an area of Orange County at the confluence of California State Route 22 and Interstate 5, Jeanette301 is a five-story apartment complex that fixes 182 units onto a relatively modest 2.1 acre site. The project houses a community of live-work studios with shared workshop and social spaces designed to facilitate and promote a collaborative living environment.

Located one block north of Santiago Park in Santa Ana, the scheme simultaneously provides essential missing middle housing with abundant communal spaces. The design is informed by the desire to balance indoor and outdoor networks, and incorporates a series of interconnected courtyards which act as a bridge to the surrounding community.

Opposed to the homogeneity of comparable larger scale housing projects in Southern California, Jeanette301 subverts conventional rectilinearity through the application of large cutouts in the massing that establish physical and visual connections throughout the project. The character of each street elevation is further enhanced by a deliberate contrast of cement-panel street-facing exterior façades that are punctuated by the variously-sized window types and exterior spaces. Landscape spills from the courtyards in giant stepped planters towards Jeanette Lane inviting a dialogue between residents and passers-by.

The project brings much needed density to a burgeoning community that includes Santa Ana College, Chapman University, and UC Irvine Medical Center, and creates a backdrop for culture and community through thoughtful design.