Set within an Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (IHPC) defined district, the architectural contemporary response relates to its surrounding neighborhood, while holding an urban edge along Irvington’s main corridor, Washington Street. The game-changing design move came in siting the building. The 50 living units were split into two buildings, creating an urban courtyard between the structures as a nucleus to the development. This allows the site and buildings to become a campus. Through thoughtful sense of proportion and style, the buildings transition the campus to the surrounding residential context. Vehicular and pedestrian flow is crafted through the use of clear circulation, simple building footprints and visual connections throughout the site. The compact campus pushes parking to the rear, screening vehicles. The urban courtyard and the surrounding buildings become the anchor points designating the urban court as the foci of the campus.

The final structures and site, through their arrangement, create “true community” through architecture. Individual dwelling unit balconies were omitted to create community decks. The vegetated roof plaza and the urban court strengthen and stimulate tenant interaction and community. To further enhance this sense of place, a community room on street-level was designed to accommodate events that can spill out to an exterior patio through a 16 foot wide glass overhead door. The Irvington Development Organization’s main offices and leasing are housed adjacent to the entry lobby and the neighborhood community room for increased visibility. Although affordable housing projects do not often receive efficient technologies and higher end design, the Lofts, were designed to be efficient, utilizing Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) for exterior walls and a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and cooling system.