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MUTUO

MUTUO

Los Angeles, CA

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Boyle Tower

Our design team (M u t u o + urb—in) researched a new housing typology to be used as a novel tool in the ‘affordable housing toolbox’. Our goal with this project is to propose a more affordable way of building and as a result contribute to alleviate the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles.
We are proposing reinforced precast box culverts commonly used for infrastructure projects as a viable solution for building modern, compact, affordable housing (micro units) in Los Angeles.
We are testing the idea with a one story Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) pilot plan and will replicate the pilot project stacking five units into a tower configuration on Boyle Avenue. Our basic pilot plan unit is composed of 4 interlocked boxes, one for each space: living, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Each box (10’wide x 8’deep x 10’ high ceiling) interlocks with the next creating a long and narrow unit. Combined they form a 320 sf interior unit.
The five units on Boyle have an average 350 sf interior space. Through fruitful collaborations between developers and architects design can play a fundamental role in alleviating the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles.

 
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Status: Unbuilt
Location: Los Angeles, CA, US
Firm Role: Architect
Additional Credits: PROJECT TEAM:
CLIENT: Toledo Capital Development LLC
ARCHITECT: MUTUO (Jose Herrasti, Fernanda Oppermann, Fernanda Ximenez, Ana Antoni, Alejandra Novelo,
Ilse Badillo, Sandra Villanueva, Irving Alvarez)
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT: urb—in
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: NOUS Engineering
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Superjacent
MURAL: Miguel Nobrega
RENDER: Luis Tornel
MODEL PHOTOGRAPHS: Caca Santoro Photography

 
Model, side elevation
Model, side elevation
Model
Model
Model, front view
Model, front view
Rendered view
Rendered view
Pilot project: Accessible Dwelling Unit (ADU)
Pilot project: Accessible Dwelling Unit (ADU)
Site plan
Site plan
Site model
Site model
Mural options
Mural options