multifamily

Vista del Arroyo Courtyard

Submitted by Filmanowicz on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 4:04am. Tags for this image:
It's hard to imagine a more dramatic setting for a California courtyard residential building than this one, tucked under a bridge spanning Pasadena's Arroyo Seco just below the landmark Vista del Arroyo Hotel (now housing the 9th District US Court of Appeals). Very imaginative use of a challenging space perched between downtown Pasadena and the scenic canyon.
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Granada Court 2

Submitted by Filmanowicz on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 3:17am. Tags for this image:
The delightful shared spaces in Granada Courts make densities of 50 units to the acre feel relaxed and livable. The fountain court and narrow staircases could fit naturally into a Mykonos hillside. Smart use of the courtyard allows what would otherwise be common-space hallways to be reborn as balconies and loggias.
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Granada Courts 1

Submitted by Filmanowicz on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 3:02am. Tags for this image:
This is state-of-the-art California courtyard housing designed by someone who knows the form well, Stefanos Polyzoides. It shows Los Angeles how to build densities in or near existing downtowns -- in this case 50 units to the acre within a block of Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard. Residents have a one-block walk to Target and about a 5-block walk to Metro's Gold Line. It also adds density gracefully, avoiding the bulkiness of nearby stacked-flats and using intimate-yet-airy European spaces to break up the space.
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Q Condominiums

Submitted by paytonc on Tue, 01/16/2007 - 7:59pm. Tags for this image:
The Q Condominiums at Orenco Station, one block from a MAX light rail station and across from Orenco Station's mixed-use retail street, combines multistory rowhouses and ADA adaptable flats. Most units have accessible ground-level entrances, with shared ramps leading to front patios (not quite porches). Units range from $180,000 to $380,000, very accessible price points for the market.
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Multifamily variety at Stapleton

Submitted by paytonc on Wed, 12/27/2006 - 8:40pm. Tags for this image:
This block, adjacent to the first neighborhood green at Stapleton, features stacked flats facing the green and rowhouses facing away. When mixing housing types on one block, it is better to have different types facing across an alley than a street. The rowhouses, like many three- and four-story rowhouses today, have an updated version of an English basement. The ground-level first floor houses a garage and multipurpose room, with the living areas upstairs.
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Savannah rowhouses

Submitted by paytonc on Wed, 12/27/2006 - 8:27pm. Tags for this image:
Traditional Savannah rowhouses, built with brick with a stucco overlay and with English basements that elevate the house above what were once dusty sand streets. The English basement offers versatility: some of these now house small shops. The zero-step, ground-level entry can also provide an accessible entrance, provided an elevator or lift is available inside.
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Two-flats at Stapleton

Submitted by paytonc on Fri, 12/15/2006 - 12:51am. Tags for this image:
Small buildings with two flats (one up, one down) at Stapleton, a large New Urbanist development at Denver's former airport. Note that the lower flats are at grade; the front porch and railings provide visual separation from the street.
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Affordable townhouses in Chicago

Submitted by paytonc on Tue, 11/28/2006 - 9:00pm. Tags for this image:
The Archer Courts townhouses were built on 1.143 acres of land surrounding a rehabilitated "towers in the park" public housing complex in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood. Of the 43 townhouses, 34 were sold at market prices to moderate-income residents, five were sold by lottery to low-income local families, and four were donated to the housing authority in exchange for the land. The 2-3 bedroom units, built from modular elements, feature alley-fed single car garages and rooftop decks. All units are adaptable for full accessibility, with wide interior doors and stairs, zero-step ground floor entries, and ground floor bathrooms. An innovative financing model used TIF funds and tax-exempt municipal bonds to access low-cost capital. The development won the 2005 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence at the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards.
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Affordable condos at Stapleton

Submitted by paytonc on Tue, 11/21/2006 - 1:59am. Tags for this image:
"Syracuse Village" offers condominiums from the $100s to income-qualified buyers at Stapleton in Denver. Note the subtle ramps along the side for accessibility. These appear to have eight flats per building.
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Vancouver low-rise

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/12/2006 - 8:38pm. Tags for this image:
Everyone knows about the towers of downtown Vancouver, but the city has also vigorously pursued neighborhood infill. The blocks around a former brewery on Arbutus Avenue in Kitsilano, an upscale neighbourhood south of downtown, have been redeveloped in recent years. This smaller-scale development is east of Arbutus -- both are new and of similar scale, but one takes a (modernised) three-flat as prototype and the other copies large Victorian houses.
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