Archinect - News

Brooks + Scarpa reveals Westside LA transitional housing project inspired by Irving Gill

2022-10-24T14:38:00-04:00

Brooks + Scarpa has released images of their recently-completed Rose Apartments complex, a community housing initiative for formerly homeless teenage youths transitioning into adulthood in Venice, Los Angeles.

The 20,900-square-foot, four-story design includes some 35 units of highly affordable residences for young adults who are at risk for homelessness after being separated from the state-administered system at the age of 18.

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

Located nearby Venice Beach's central retail strip, the scheme takes its cues from Irving Gill’s neighboring Horatio West Court apartments and other examples of courtyard housing that predominated the city in the years prior to the Second World War.

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

Per the architects: “The courtyard is only one aspect of a successful design. By including affordable housing for transitional aged youths, it allowed the non-developer to take advantage of California State Assembly Bill AB7...

World Home Foundation to focus philanthropy on global housing crisis

2020-07-29T13:55:00-04:00

31-year-old entrepreneur Fanyu Lin has initiated a new philanthropic enterprise called the World Home Foundation, an effort focused on providing homes to undeserved populations that include low income urban citizens, migrants, and refugees.

The new endeavor addresses a common phenomenon in reconstruction projects after natural disasters where low quality tents are provided to the impacted population as shelters while transitional housing is developed and built. "The shelters are often shacks, or low quality tents. There are technologies such as 3D printing which could improve the conditions and speed of building significantly, essentially combining shelters and transitional housing. But to achieve that in reality, it requires people who know the technology, the willing capital, and the right organization to bring it to life," writes Fei Bo in a profile on Lin.

Prior to launching World Home Foundation, Lin founded Fluxus, an architecture and construction technology company, and also...

It's true: Trump's tax cuts gutted LIHTC funding

2019-07-18T14:29:00-04:00

As a result of reduced tax revenue from the 2017 corporate tax cuts enacted by President Donald Trump, the development of at least 15,000 affordable housing units has been either delayed or eliminated entirely, The Sacramento Bee reports.

The reason? A significant portion of affordable housing development happens as a result of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a program that typically enjoys bipartisan support because it provides tax credits to private companies that fund low-income housing development. The Sacramento Bee reports, however, that as a result of the tax cuts, corporate tax rates dropped by 40-percent, shriveling the total available pool of funds available to fund initiatives like the LIHTC.

As a result, California built only 19,000 affordable homes with the funding in 2018, a 23-percent drop from 2016.

Brooklyn tenants reject landlord's plan to install facial recognition system

2019-05-09T09:00:00-04:00

Last year, residents of Atlantic Plaza Towers, a rent-stabilized apartment building in Brooklyn, found out that their landlord was planning to replace the key fob entry system with facial recognition technology. [...] But some residents were immediately alarmed by the prospect: They felt the landlord’s promise of added security was murky at best, and didn’t outweigh their concerns about having to surrender sensitive biometric information to enter their own homes.

"Housing complexes of low-income residents may be one early testing ground for residential applications of facial recognition technology," writes Tanvi Misra for CityLab. "But they’re not the only ones. Amazon’s doorbell company, Ring, is coming out with a video doorbell that incorporates facial recognition, which has the ACLU worried about the risk of high-tech profiling of 'suspicious' persons."

The 'other' Hong Kong photographed by Pascal Greco

2018-10-11T15:17:00-04:00

[...] medium- and low-income residents can’t afford land, while the city’s wealth explodes and attracts economic activity that doesn’t keep its poor residents in the loop. This was the Hong Kong Greco wanted to show. “Perhaps one should adopt a special lens in looking at Hong Kong, not only to see its superficial beauty, but also the social undercurrents that sustain its structures,” writes Dr. Ernest Chui in Greco’s book.

CityLab editorial fellow Karim Doumar presents the stunning black/white Polaroid shots from Swiss photographer and filmmaker Pascal Greco's new book, Hong Kong - Perspectives, Prospectives, Typologies, documenting the gritty housing environments of Hong Kong's population at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Photo: Pascal Greco

Brad Pitt's foundation facing lawsuit for post-Katrina homes amidst reports they are falling apart

2018-09-04T14:21:00-04:00

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in 2005, Brad Pitt set up the Make It Right Foundation to aid in the rebuilding efforts. The non-profit charity, promoting energy efficient technology and high quality architecture, promised LEED Platinum-certified structures designed by star architects—like the homes designed by Frank Gehry—to help house families in one of the city's hardest hit areas.

Thirteen years since the hurricane's passing, the foundation has struggled to deliver on its pledge and is now facing a potential lawsuit over the conditions of the now falling apart homes. Reports from residents include roofs caving in, wood rotting, and walls collapsing, as well as claims of severe headaches and other health problems caused by electrical and plumbing issues.

"Essentially, Make It Right was making a lot of promises to come back and fix the homes that they initially sold these people and have failed to do so. We have some people who have gotten sick, o...

Kanye West's first YEEZY Home project appears to be a prefab affordable housing scheme

2018-06-04T14:00:00-04:00

It's been merely a month since rapper/entrepreneur/design aficionado Kanye West announced on Twitter that he would launch an architecture venture with his design firm, to be called YEEZY Home, and now first renderings have appeared on Instagram that list West among the designers.

"Low income housing scheme, made of prefabricated concrete in collaboration with Petra Kustrin, Jalil Peraza, Kanye West, Nejc Skufca," reads the caption of an image that shows a minimalist courtyard flanked by walls that mimic the brutalist, austere aesthetic of West's latest private estate as well as his YEEZY HQ in Calabasas, a posh Los Angeles suburb.

Image via Jalil Peraza/@jalilperaza on Instagram.

The image was shared by designer, and former Kanye West collaborator, Jalil Peraza who added another rendering this morning of an ultraminimalist kitchen with muted brass and concrete surfaces, crediting the same design team.

Image Jalil Peraza via hypebeast.com.

Hypebeast also published another rendering o...

A look at the alarmingly long wait times for Section 8 housing in U.S. cities

2018-01-04T13:59:00-05:00

Stacker was one of 188,000 people who applied for 20,000 spots in the voucher waiting line for the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles. And that line won’t be moving quickly. The Housing Authority’s Section 8 director, Carlos VanNatter, said only about 200 vouchers become available here every month, basically when a pay raise makes someone ineligible or someone dies.

While the national average wait time for Section 8 vouchers is currently more than two years (with nearly half of all housing authorities having closed their lists to new applicants), the situation in big cities like New York and Los Angeles is so dire that residents have to apply for a coveted spot on the waiting list via a lottery held every few years. And there's no sign of easing: "President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 budget would slash more than $6 billion from the U.S. Housing office, or HUD, which funds Section 8," Marketplace reports.

New report shows 60-percent drop in U.S. affordable-housing stock between 2010 and 2016

2017-10-24T14:20:00-04:00

The number of apartments deemed affordable for very low-income families across the United States fell by more than 60 percent between 2010 and 2016, according to a new report by Freddie Mac. The report by the government-backed mortgage financier is the first to compare rent increases in specific units over time. It examined loans that the corporation had financed twice between 2010 and 2016, allowing a comparison of the exact same rental units and how their affordability changed.

The Washington Post reports about a new report by Freddie Mac: "More renters flooded the market after people lost their homes in the housing crisis. The apartment vacancy rate was 8 percent in 2009, compared to 4 percent in 2017. That trend, coupled with a stagnant supply of apartments, resulted in increased rents."

Some of the states with the highest decreases in the percentage of affordable units were Colorado and North Carolina.

How social equality is linked to health, as manifested in the built environment

2017-08-29T14:13:00-04:00

Residents of the outer suburbs tend to travel much longer distances between home, work and the services they need daily. Getting around necessarily defaults to the car, which has serious long-term implications for health. Driving is particularly associated with extended sitting in a confined space and, as a result, not getting enough exercise each day. When poorer communities are located in areas of lesser amenity due to lower housing costs, this exacerbates their health problems.

The close correlation between socioeconomic status and health has long been out of question. The built environment and the environmental context serve as direct social determinants of health.

Due to lower housing costs, poorer communities are often restricted to residing in areas of lesser amenity that exacerbate the obstacles to mental and physical well-being—lack of quality services and infrastructure, scarcity of green space and long work commutes challenge health. Additionally, poor building design and construction, and the excessive noise that it causes, can significantly contribute to stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and sometimes even neighbor conflict and violence. What might appear as light threats, such as sleep deprivation which is linked to obesity, serve as risk factors for many chronic diseases.

While high-density living is increasingly trumpeted as “healthy,” health and well-being of poor communities in high-rise housing heavily depends on the specifics—geographic...

The issue with the median as indicator of housing affordability

2017-03-17T13:39:00-04:00

The standard yardstick for judging housing affordability is to look at the median level of rents or home prices. As we all remember from statistics, the median is the observation in the middle of the distribution. And while for many purposes, it’s a reliable indicator of typical prices, in some neighborhoods, particularly those with a mix of expensive and cheap housing, the median is actually a weak indicator of affordability.

"For an illustration of this problem, imagine two neighborhoods. In both places, the median home costs $300,000. But in the first neighborhood, every home costs exactly $300,000, while in the second, there are a range of homes from $100,000 to $500,000. Although both neighborhoods have the same median home price, the second neighborhood has some homes affordable to low-income people, while the first neighborhood does not. So rather than the median, or 50th percentile, home price, we really care about something like the 25th percentile: the home for which 75 percent of homes are more expensive."

Brooks + Scarpa's mixed-use complex featuring low-income housing to break ground

2017-03-02T13:39:00-05:00

Adding 84,000 square feet of a custom-aluminum-facade-bearing mixed-use structure to a Metro Red Line adjacent corner of North Hollywood, Brooks + Scarpa are continuing their aesthetically pioneering work in low-income housing.

The structure, deemed "NOHO on Camarillo," will defy old-school monolithic notions of affordable housing by carving out volumes on the southern and northern exposures to let light in while simultaneously creating an ample courtyard. The structure will also have a little under 3,000 square feet of retail space for enterprising types.

The five-story, 60-unit building's price tag is quoted at $13.5 million.

How New York City's luxury housing tax could finance affordable units

2017-02-23T19:44:00-05:00

While President Trump talks repeatedly about fixing America’s inner cities, it’s a good bet that in the coming years, New York and other large metropolitan areas will need to be more self-reliant in solving pressing problems, especially low-income housing. [...] Fortunately, there’s an already tested alternative: an annual luxury housing tax, levied on new high-end condos and rentals, which would feed a self-sustaining fund dedicated to develop truly affordable units.

Gensler's proposed mixed-use Downtown Los Angeles tower to incorporate low-income housing

2017-02-07T13:25:00-05:00

Fifty-two stories, four visually distinct sections, and one playful, gaping hole constitute the major components of Gensler's proposed new 300+ unit residential building for downtown Los Angeles, which would rise from the ashes of a (soon-to-be) former auto dealership on 1600 South Figueroa Street. The 1.14 acre site would play host to the mixed-use building, which would feature 9,000 square feet of retail space in addition to a 3,000 square foot restaurant and a hotel.

The residential units are a mixture of condos and rentals, and include several units set aside specifically for low-income residents. The very top of the tower features a playful, asymmetrically-placed hat-like assembly of penthouses, distinguishing it visually from the more restrained neighboring towers to the north (and creating a weird dialogue with the convention center).

Javier Senosiain's low-income "bio-architecture" housing proposal

2016-10-18T14:26:00-04:00

Forming a closer, more harmonious bond between humanity and nature is the underlying goal of Javier Senosiain's organic or so-called "bio-architecture." His buildings often take the shape of organic forms--in one case, mythic serpent Quetzalcoatl--while simultaneously harvesting rainwater and providing natural shade and ventilation, among other attributes. The Mexican architect and professor at UNAM has a retrospective exhibition at The Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City displaying his buildings, including a proposed low-income housing complex which breaks away from the cram'em'in monolithic housing milleu and instead creates a walkable, livable village. Check out this CCTV-America video profiling Senosiain and his work:

A closer look at riza3's low-cost housing plans for the homeless

2016-04-14T18:22:00-04:00

Last year, the team took part in the 'Tiny Home Community' competition, set up by members of the North Carolina branch of the American Institute of Architects. The competition was asking participants to design low-cost homes with prefabricated elements, that could house the homeless folk of Raleigh, North Carolina. More than 100 architectural offices from all over the world answered the call, including some well-established companies, but first prize was eventually awarded to riza3.

Although Elemental, the firm of Pritzker Prize winning Alejandro Aravena, released plans for "incremental" low-cost housing meant to be assembled partly by individuals and partly by a larger social infrastructure, they're not the only ones with ideas for long term sustainable housing. Greek firm riza3's competition winning ideas for low-cost houses differ in that they use prefabricated elements, and assume that there will be some integration into a preexisting urban fabric. Here's a look at a few plans and renderings:

The individual units, which measure 20'4" by 9'8" can be integrated into a community plan, with a separate work space and common area.

For more on homelessness and its possible solutions:

Inside Aravena's open source plans for low-cost yet upgradable housing

2016-04-06T14:35:00-04:00

After Alejandro Aravena accepted the Pritzker Prize yesterday, his firm Elemental released four open source plans for low income housing that, according to the firm's website, balance the constraints of "low-rise high density, without overcrowding, with possibility of expansion (from social housing to middle-class dwelling)." The plans were released partly as a response to the looming housing crisis of 2030, in which it is estimated that two billion people will be living under the poverty line.

Aravena's self-described "incremental housing" is partly a governmental effort, and partly an individual one. By providing plans for proven models of sustainable housing, people can have greater agency in housing themselves. "Given the magnitude of the housing shortage, we won't solve this problem unless we add people's own resources and building capacity to that of governments and the market," reads Elemental's statement.

The four projects Elemental has released plans for are Quinta Monroy, V...

Los Angeles approves plans to tackle homelessness crisis, but funding is still unclear

2016-02-10T13:44:00-05:00

In a fresh bid to confront a problem that has confounded lawmakers for decades, Los Angeles city and county officials approved sweeping plans Tuesday aimed at getting thousands of homeless people off the streets. But one crucial question remains unanswered: Where will most of the money come from? [...] The renewed government attention to homelessness was spurred in part by a 12% surge in people living on the streets [...] pushing the total to more than 44,000 homeless people countywide.

Previously in the Archinect news:

Monterey Park City Council adopts tougher penalties for landlords of illegal boarding homes

2015-05-12T16:06:00-04:00

Landlords of illegal boarding homes could face $1,000 fines and six months in jail under tougher enforcement regulations adopted this week by the City Council...The city has staffed a volunteer in the code enforcement office and plans to add more of them. The council unanimously voted to update regulations to say it could prosecute landlords of illegal boarding homes with an infraction or misdemeanor charge and shut the 'public nuisance' down.

"These renters said in previous interviews that they try to stay out of the limelight and cannot afford other living arrangements as they work for below minimum wage and send a large chunk of their earnings back to family in China."

Low-income housing in Los Angeles: A look at the past, present and future

2015-04-08T18:30:00-04:00

The phrases "public housing" or "low-income housing" do not generally conjure thoughts of architectural innovation. [...] But it doesn't have to be that way, as several recent housing developments in Los Angeles prove. Instead, they pose the question: What if low-income housing was perceived as leading the vanguard of innovative, responsive architecture?