Los Angeles, California
The project takes advantage of the compact site by pushing the profile of the building to the limits of the 1/3 acre lot; as a result, the building efficiently takes on the form of an extrusion of the setbacks. The resulting six story, 60 unit apartment building is then divided along the north-east and south-west ends by an open air circulation corridor to organize the otherwise simple box into a rational means to orient the units. As a result, the two bedroom units have views to the Hollywood Sign and the one bedroom units have Downtown Los Angeles.
To further mitigate the inherent limits on size because of the small site, the building takes advantage of overhanging balconies that jut out over the setbacks. As a result, not only is there more square footage per unit, but the balconies also break down the otherwise simple building mass into well-articulated and detailed facades. In addition, to further break down the scale of a 60 unit apartment building, the design incorporates strong lattice of white frames that are referential to the rigid nature of the Los Angeles City grid to present a unique and striking addition to the architecture of the neighborhood.