flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

The best of affordable housing: 4 projects honored with 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards [slideshow]

The best of affordable housing: 4 projects honored with 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards [slideshow]

The winners include two dramatic conversions of historic YMCA buildings into modern, affordable multifamily complexes.


By AIA | May 12, 2014
28th Street Apartments, Los Angeles; Koning Eizenberg Architects. Photo:  Eric
28th Street Apartments, Los Angeles; Koning Eizenberg Architects. Photo: Eric Staudenmaier

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Housing and Custom Residential Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), recognized four recipients of the 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards.  

The categories of the program include Excellence in Affordable Housing Design, Creating Community Connection Award, Community-Informed Design Award and Housing Accessibility - Alan J. Rothman Award. These awards demonstrate that design matters, and the recipient projects offer examples of important developments in the housing industry.

“This year’s recipients are shining examples of how the latest innovations in design, materials and building techniques are not just for high-end housing but can also offer lower income families exceptional homes they can actually afford,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. 

The jury for the 2014 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards included Nancy Ludwig, FAIA, (Chair), ICON architecture, inc.; David Barista, Building Design+Construction; Louise Braverman, FAIA, Louise Braverman Architect; Keith Fudge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Paul Joice; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Jean Rehkeamp Larson, AIA, Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc.

 
 

 

Category One: Excellence in Affordable Housing Design Award

Recognizing architecture that demonstrates overall excellence in terms of design in response to both the needs and constraints of affordable housing.
 

28th Street Apartments, Los Angeles
Koning Eizenberg Architects

Photos: © Eric Staudenmaier
 

This project restored a 1926 YMCA building, designed by noted African American architect Paul R. Williams and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and added a new five-story building at the rear of the existing structure.  

The original building and addition house two nonprofit organizations; one offers neighborhood youth training and employment programs and the other provides 49 units of affordable housing for youth leaving foster care, the mentally ill, and the chronically homeless.

Support services are offered on-site, and residents have access to a roof garden, laundry, and lounge.

More on this project.

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

Category Two: Creating Community Connection Award

Recognizing projects that incorporate housing within other community amenities for the purpose of either revitalization or planned growth.
 

Kelly Cullen Community, San Francisco
Gelfand Partners Architects; Knapp Architects

Photos: © Mark Luthringer
 

San Francisco’s historic Central YMCA (1909), a nine-story Classical building located in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood, has been transformed into supportive housing for the homeless and a health center for residents of supportive housing and the homeless.  

The adaptive use project created 174 micro-units of permanent housing and preserved the original sky-lit second-floor lobby, auditorium, full-size gymnasium, offices, and meeting rooms.  

A new radiant heating system, energy efficient lighting and ventilation, and the use of healthy materials support sustainability and resident well-being. 

More on this project.

 

 
 
 

 

 

Category Three: Community-Informed Design Award

Recognizing design that supports physical communities as they rebuild social structures and relationships that may have been weakened by outmigration, disinvestment, and the isolation of inner-city areas.
 

Kings Beach Housing Now, Kings Beach, Calif.
Domus Development; YHLA Architects

Photos: © Tom Zikas Photography; Chelsea Bowman; Dave Adams
 

This project provides affordable workforce housing for low-income workers and families who previously lived in dilapidated, substandard housing in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Consisting of nine buildings located on five scattered sites, Kings Beach Housing Now provides 77 LEED Silver apartments that reduce negative impacts on the environment, reuse infill land, and preserve Lake Tahoe’s beautiful open spaces. In addition, an advanced biofiltration system naturally filters 100% of on-site storm water, which prevents sediments and pollutants from negatively impacting the lake. 

More on this project.

 

 
 
 

 

Category Four: Housing Accessibility | Alan J. Rothman Award

Recognizing exemplary projects that demonstrate excellence in improving housing accessibility for people with disabilities.
 

Sierra Bonita Housing, West Hollywood, Calif.
Patrick Tighe Architecture

Photos: © Art Gray Photography
 

The design challenge of this project, the first all-affordable mixed-use development in West Hollywood and the first designed and completed according to the city’s new Green Building Ordinance, was to fit the desired 42 accessible units on a 13,000-sf site and within a 50-foot height limit.  

The design used minimal exterior setbacks and reversed the typical unit layout, locating the bedrooms along the interior building courtyard and the living areas on the street side, to capitalize on views and natural light.

Passive solar strategies generate power for all of the building’s common areas, and a second system of rooftop solar panels provides hot water for the entire building. 

More on this project.

 

Related Stories

| Jan 27, 2012

Smith Seckman Reid opens two new offices

Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm, has opened two new offices, one in Chicago, the other in Washington, D.C.

| Jan 27, 2012

BRB Architects designs new campus center for Molloy College

Intended to be the centerpiece of the College’s transformation from a commuter college to a 24-hour learning community, the “Public Square” will support student life with spaces such as a café, lounges, study rooms, student club space, a bookstore and an art gallery.

| Jan 27, 2012

Columbia University’s New Core Laboratory aims for LEED Silver

Construction manager Sordoni Construction Co. along with the design team of Payette Architects and Vanderweil Engineers will provide design and construction services to renovate the majority of the existing Core Lab building to create the new Lamont Center for Bio-Geochemistry.

| Jan 26, 2012

Three dead, 16 missing in Rio buildings collapse

The buildings, one 20 floors high, collapsed on Wednesday night in a cloud of dust and smoke just one block away from the city's historic Municipal Theater.

| Jan 26, 2012

Siemens launches smoke detection knowledge center

New knowledge center web site demonstrates efficacy of smoke detection. 

| Jan 26, 2012

Hendrick Construction completes Osso Restaurant in Charlotte

Designed by François Fossard, Osso's upscale interior includes tapered, twisted decorative columns and an elegant fireplace in the center of the lounge. 

| Jan 26, 2012

HOK partners with USGBC on design of Haiti children's center

Passive design principles give form to a sustainable, restorative environment for the children of Haiti.

| Jan 26, 2012

American Standard names Gould as president and CEO

Gould succeeds Don Devine, who led the successful turnaround of American Standard Brands.

| Jan 26, 2012

Summit Design+Build completes law office in Chicago

Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen's new office suite features private offices, open office area, conference rooms, reception area, exposed wood beams and columns, and exposed brick. 

| Jan 24, 2012

New iPad app ready for prime time

Siemens’ versatile application connects users to APOGEE BAS control and monitoring functions via wireless network connectivity. The application directly interacts with BACnet/IP and Siemens APOGEE P2 field panels. 

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category



AEC Tech

Lack of organizational readiness is biggest hurdle to artificial intelligence adoption

Managers of companies in the industrial sector, including construction, have bought the hype of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative technology, but their organizations are not ready to realize its promise, according to research from IFS, a global cloud enterprise software company. An IFS survey of 1,700 senior decision-makers found that 84% of executives anticipate massive organizational benefits from AI. 


Codes and Standards

Updated document details methods of testing fenestration for exterior walls

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) updated a document serving a recommended practice for determining test methodology for laboratory and field testing of exterior wall systems. The document pertains to products covered by an AAMA standard such as curtain walls, storefronts, window walls, and sloped glazing. AAMA 501-24, Methods of Test for Exterior Walls was last updated in 2015. 

halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021