The project straddles across the street and incorporates gardens planted with bamboo and magnolias and commercial space on the ground floor. Breaks in the buildings highlighted with bright red facades draw more daylighting into the apartments above and allow for natural breezes to blow through the gaps assisting with natural ventilation. There are 93 apartments total, designed for people of all ages that can also adapt as they age or new tenants move in. Eight of the apartments are designed to be wheelchair-accessible.
A high performance thermal envelope minimizes energy use for heating and cooling with the help of white polished concrete facing the street to reflect sunlight, and fiber cement siding or aluminum cladding inside the plot to absorb energy depending on their orientation. Hot water is heated by solar panels on both roofs, a roof on the north building is covered in vegetation to absorb stormwater, and rainwater is collected for landscape irrigation. Each new tenant, upon moving into their new apartment, is given a “Green Guide” to help educate them about the building’s features and encourage them to participate.
+ ADE Architectes
Via ArchDaily
Images ©Stephan Lucas and David Elalouf
