This 6 unit townhouse structure sits aside the threshold boundary line of Charlotte’s North Davidson community.  Adjacent to a small tributary of Little Sugar Creek and occupying a curve in the road, this parcel is a quick windshield glance enjoyed only if one avoids a quick blink of the eye.

This postage stamp building footprint is positioned on what had been called an “unbuildable” lot.  After removing the creek’s trash treasures, special care was taken to create a landscaped buffer and stabilized creek edge.  Rain and its journey to this creek became an inspiration for the building’s roofline and street front water sculpture.  During a precipitation event water exits the building’s single roof scupper, falling twenty feet into a series of cascading steel basins, each feeding the next till finally percolating into a permeable cistern.  

Property value wise the NoDa community has become a victim of its own success.  This blue collar mill village has seen property prices creep northward, quickly out pacing the means of it’s traditional resident.  One of this project’s goals was to offer a quality housing alternative at a more modest price point.  Durable and cost effective materials are utilized throughout the typical unit’s interior and exterior.  A narrow shotgun plan positions a single bedroom with an open living area atop a ground level one car garage and studio.  A balcony overlooks the creek and bordering natural areas.  This view is largely unobscured by a custom perforated & powder coated guard railing.

This project is a simple wood framed 2 story structure comprised of 6 one bedroom townhouses, each with a single car garage & studio on the ground level.

A butterfly roof structure at street’s edge creates a threshold passage into the motor court.

The rain animated scupper and cascade basins animate a typically soggy event.