TOGE THER : A P ORT F OLIO OF MULT I - FA MILY HOUSING
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“Studio E Architects exhibit an all too rare set of commitments and skills. They have shown a dedication to place, community, and craft and translated this dedication into eloquent projects that enhance the lives of the inhabitants. They have chosen to work from fundamental principles, eschewing the seduction of elaborate form making. Their work reminds us that the social values of architecture can be realized while satisfying the soul with the poetics of place.�
Buzz Yudell, FAIA, arcCA, 1:2001
G Lofts West - San Diego, California
CONTENTS 7 IDEAS ON HOUSING
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ARCHER STUDIOS
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BRISAS DE PAZ
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CELADON
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CORONADO VILLA
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EUCALYPTUS
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FAHRENHEIT
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G LOFTS WEST
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HOTEL CHURCHILL
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PARKSIDE STUDIOS
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TALMADGE GATEWAY
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THE METROPOLITAN
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TESORO GROVE
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VERANDA
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ABOUT STUDIO E ARCHITECTS
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
CORONADO, CALIFORNIA
ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA
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1. SPECIFICITY We are opportunists. Each project begins with a careful investigation of the uniqueness of its setting: culture, climate, geography, built context, and landscape. We seek the idiosyncratic and particular. Our work rejects generic solutions, grounding itself instead in the specifics of place.
2. PLACEMAKING The act of building is primarily concerned with the creation of places for people. Community results from collective spaces that invite shared participation. Our buildings define the public realm, shape open spaces, mark thresholds, and create transitions.
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3. RECLAIMING The accommodation of the automobile at the expense of almost all else characterizes most contemporary planning. Our site plans insist that cars be convenient but contained, balancing their impact with other considerations. Where possible, parking areas are co-opted for other uses — becoming plazas, groves, marketplaces, play yards.
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4. ALCHEMY The chief aim of alchemy—a pseudo-science practiced in the Middle Ages—was to turn base metals into gold. As modern-day architects/ alchemists, we embrace the ordinary programs, left-over sites, and modest construction budgets of our practice, seeking to extract extraordinary and memorable results.
5. POSSIBILITY We strive to create buildings and public spaces that transcend program to provide comfortable places for living. Ideally, our buildings anticipate and accommodate change, reuse, and adaptation. We offer them as “frameworks� to inhabit, as places of possibility.
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6. ENERGY We find that buildings that respond to climate create both environmental benefits and more uplifting places to inhabit. We employ simple, time-honored techniques that reduce energy consumption and connect people to the natural phenomena of their place.
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7. CHOREOGRAPHY Choreography involves planning arranged movement through space. We arrange paths of movement through sequential or serial space to enhance the experience of occupation. We favor mystery over expediency, preferring discovery through visual contrast, tactility, sound, and temperature.
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A RC H E R S T U D I O S SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
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Archer Street
Kerley Avenue
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25
50 ft
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL Archer Studios is a 42 unit single-room-occupancy (SRO) development located near the San Jose International Airport. Targeted to house hourly wage service workers, the design reaches beyond basic affordable shelter by providing a place that fosters dignity, security and community among its residents. The project is a model of efficiency and sustainability. Units were required to be under 300 sq. ft. — prompting the design team to study cruise ship cabins and European pieda-terre apartments as models. “Rethinking Small” resulted in light-filled, high ceilinged studios with well-appointed kitchens and private balconies. The building’s common areas are designed to coax residents out their units to engage with their neighbors. A meeting/recreation room, a TV Lounge, computer desk, laundry and 1,400 sq. ft. roof terrace round out the list of reasons to mingle.
COMPLETION: 2012 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: GreenPoint Rated AREA: 32,006 sf, 42 units, 0.66 acres COST: $7 million AWARDS: Builder’s Choice Grand Award, Builder Magazine, 2013 Gold Award for Best New Affordable Housing, Multi-Housing News, 2012 Citation of Recognition, American Institute of Architects San Diego, 2012
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B R I S A S D E PA Z DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
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Flora Avenue
West Drive
0
50
100 ft
KEEPING COOL Brisas de Paz comprises 62 units of affordable family housing in the desert environment of Desert Hot Springs. In consideration of its surroundings—mostly newer single-family homes—the site’s design takes great care to hide parking, to reduce the perimeter building scale, and to present street-facing porches and front yards.
COMPLETION: 2012
Employing broad eaves to shade windows, as well as cross ventilation with high ceilings to encourage air movement, the development’s units are well-equipped to withstand the severe heat and strong winds of the Coachella Valley. A central lawn provides a safe, visible space for play and gathering; the Commons provides a large meeting room, lounge, management office, and computer center. Site features also include a tot lot, barbecue pavilion, and swimming pool.
COST: $8.9 million
AREA: 66,108 sf, 62 units, 4.4 acres
AWARDS: Award of Merit, Gold Nugget Awards, Pacific Coast Builders Conference, 2013
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CEL ADON SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
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9 th A v e n u e
Broadway
0
25
50 ft
A ROOM WITH A VIEW Centered in the heart of downtown San Diego, Celadon provides 250 units of affordable housing for service workers, senior citizens, people with special needs, and the recently homeless. This 17-story mixed-use project includes ground-level retail and extensive common use spaces throughout the building, along with two and a half levels of below-grade parking. Celadon’s design imagines an urban residential type wholly influenced by San Diego’s unique climate and setting. Its five-story pedestal integrates harmoniously with the longstanding pattern of historic structures along Broadway. Angled bays on the west side are tilted to both protect from late-afternoon sun, while directing interior views to the San Diego Bay and ocean beyond. The project’s concrete structural grid is expressed with infill panels of glass, corrugated metal siding, and cement plaster. Qualifying for LEED Silver Certification, Celadon is a study in integrating open space and energy-efficient measures in a high-rise structure. Celadon was completed in collaboration with SVA Architects as Architect of Record.
COMPLETION: 2015 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: LEED Silver AREA: 170,000 square feet COST: $63 million AWARDS: Global Award of Excellence, Excellence, Urban Land Institute, 2016 Urban Model for Healthy Living Award, San Diego-Tijuana Urban Land Institute, 2016 Energy Efficiency & Integration Award, American Institute of Architects, San Diego, 2015 Grand Award, Builder’s Choice, Builder Magazine, 2014
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CO RO N A D O V I L L A CORONADO, CALIFORNIA
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6 TH S t r e e t
Alley
Orange Avenue 0
25
50 ft
A GRACIOUS NEIGHBOR Inspired by Southern California’s bungalow and courtyard housing of the early 20th century, Coronado Villa, serving very-low and low-income seniors, satisfies a previously unmet need for affordable senior housing in Coronado. This development offers its residents a private sanctuary in the heart of the island, while simultaneously establishing a community presence on an important city intersection. Its design is as desirable as any market-rate project in Coronado, and has been met with exceptional community pride. Bay windows, balconies, porches, awnings, trellises, and roof-top terraces create significant indoor and outdoor spaces. Units front on to a generously landscaped garden court with a bubbling fountain, custom ceramic tile accents, and site-specific public art.
COMPLETION: 2008 AREA: 35,970 sf, 30 units, 0.64 acres COST: $5.1 million AWARDS: Award of Merit, Gold Nugget Awards, Pacific Coast Builders Conference, Conference, 2008
Designed with an emphasis on sustainability, Coronado Villa benefits from crossventilation, natural day lighting, and a photovoltaic system powering all common areas. Located across the street from the city’s senior center, central park, and library, the site’s location and layout encourages walking and transit use.
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E U C A LY P T U S V I E W ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA
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South Escondido Boulevard
0
25
50 ft
WELCOMING FAMILIES This project, designed to serve the needs of local agricultural workers and their families, features twelve homes grouped into four structures, which wrap around a shared outdoor “room”. A unique staggered building section provides unexpected volume and natural lighting. Tall windows on the façade hint at the 10-foot ceilings and split-level plans within. Timber trellises and canopies offer shade and create shadow patterns that enliven the crisp building massing. A boulevard-scaled trellis announces the pedestrian entry to the 2.2 acre site, and semi-private porches and patios invite residents to occupy the “threshold” between their unit and the court, while parking remain pushed towards the rear of the site.
COMPLETION: 2002 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: XX AREA: 18,300 square feet COST: $1.75 million
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FA H R E N H E I T SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
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1 1 th A v e n u e
1 0 th A v e n u e 0
25
50 ft
J Street
Island Avenue
Ballpark District Parking Garage
ESTABLISHING A DISTRICT Fahrenheit is a striking mixed-use development in downtown San Diego. Its 77 units of loft housing and street-level retail lease spaces are housed in an exposed concrete frame structure that cleverly conceals a 90-foot-tall parking structure from the surrounding neighborhood. Situated on awkward 0.4-acre grounds, the project is composed of unit types that respond to the two very different “legs” of its L-shaped site: two-story townhouses occupy the shallow side, while single-story lofts take up the deep side.
COMPLETION: 2007
The frontage of Fahrenheit’s townhouses weaves large openings and metal siding with overhanging bay windows and balconies; the siding’s deep orange color adds brightness to the building’s north face, which rarely receives direct light. In contrast, the west-facing lofts feature deep recesses with terraces and balconies on an almost entirely glazed facade, coaxing daylight deep into the living spaces.
COST: $14.5million
SUSTAINABILITY RATING: LEED /Equivilant System Rating AREA: XX,XXX square feet
AWARDS: Orchid for Architecture, San Architectural Foundation, 2008
Diego
Grand Award, Residential Architect Magazine Design Awards, 2008
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G LO F T S W E S T SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
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G Street
8 th
7 th A v e n u e
Avenue
0
25
50 ft
THE WALKABLE CITY G Lofts West, an 180,000-square-foot mixed-use development in San Diego’s East Village, lives large on a budget. A mix of 142 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units emphasize affordability and efficiency. High ceilings and generous industrial windows coax sunlight deep into the lofty units; 17 street- and courtyard-facing lofts feature mezzanines. In a nod to the District’s historic warehouses, the development features simple massing and tough materials—concrete masonry and metal siding—which also define 8,700 square feet of high-bay retail lease spaces facing G Street. Besides its “hip” downtown address, the development’s amenities include a landscaped courtyard with barbeque area and fire pit, a fitness room, laundry hook-ups in each unit, and private underground parking.
COMPLETION: 2006 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: LEED /Equivilant System Rating? AREA: 122,216 square feet COST: $22 million
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H OT E L C H U RC H I L L SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA
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C Street
0
25
9 th A v e n u e
Adjacent Single-Story Commercial Building (Existing)
50 ft
RESTORING A CLASSIC The Hotel Churchill is a restoration and renovation of a long-neglected historic hotel, originally built in 1914 for the Panama-California Exposition. In 2004, the building was listed as San Diego Historic Site number 634. The building has been repurposed to provide 73 units of affordable housing and supportive services to veterans and at-risk youth. The micro-units feature ample sunlight, board-formed concrete walls, and lofty ceilings for a material richness and volume that belies their 231 sf average size. Seismic improvements include the replacement of an unreinforced masonry top floor addition with a steel-framed penthouse, and installation of viscous dampers – fluid-filled shock absorbers coupled with steel moment frames - to mitigate a “soft-story” condition at the ground level. Restoration efforts focused on preserving original elements - such as the cast-concrete façade and sheet metal cornice, and replacing missing elements – such as Juliet balconies, a marquee awning, and a neon blade sign - based on historic photos. Contemporary elements were detailed to be sympathetic but distinct from adjacent historic fabric. The new exterior stair tower is cloaked in a veil of corrugated glass panels that align with the Hotel’s cornicework. The new penthouse is clad in zinc recalling French mansard penthouses in contemporary form - while angling back from the façade below to emphasize the historic roofline of the restored cornice. Project completed in collaboration with Heritage Architecture & Planning as Historic and Preservation Architect.
COMPLETION: 2016 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: Full building reuse & rehabilitation AREA: 39,000 square feet COST: $20.6 million
AWARDS: Orchid for Historic Preservation, San Diego Architectural Foundation, 2017 People in Preservation Award, Save Our Heritage Organization, 2017 Ruby Award, San Diego Housing Federation, 2017 Certificate of Merit in Retrofit/ Alterations, Alterations, SEAOSD Excellence in Structural Engineering
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PA R K S I D E S T U D I O S SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA
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E
Mua
de
Ave
nue
N o r t h W o l f e R o a d 34°
0
50
100
ft
MODULAR HOUSING FOR SILICON VALLEY Built on the site of a defunct National Guard Armory, Parkside Studios is a micro-flat workforce housing development, offering 59 units of affordable housing for low-wage service workers and recently homeless individuals. The project’s units were built off-site, loaded onto flatbed trucks, driven to the site, and craned into place as fully built-out modules, complete with fixtures and appliances installed. This method allowed the builder to collapse the schedule by almost five months, and netted a savings of half a million dollars in construction costs. Studio E Architects’ endeavor to “re-think small” resulted in light-filled, high-ceilinged studios with well-appointed kitchens and private balconies. The modest size of individual units is offset by generous indoor and outdoor common spaces—including lounges, a meeting/recreation room, laundry facilities, and an 1800-square-foot roof terrace.
COMPLETION: 2011 PROJECT TYPE: Modular Affordable Housing / Modular Micro Flats SIZE / AREA: 59 Units / 60,292 square feet COST: $12.8 million AWARDS/QUOTE: Finalist, Readers’ Choice Awards, Awards, Affordable Housing Finance, 2016 Honorable Mention, Urban Category, Charles Edison Tax Credit Excellence Awards, 2016
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TA L M A D G E G AT E WAY SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
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EUCLID AVENUE
FD
EXISTING BUILDING
JO EL CA
EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDING
D.
N BLV
EXISTING COMMERCIAL PARKING
47TH STREET
DESIGNING FOR DIGNITY Talmadge Gateway is a 60 unit studio apartment building designed specifically to serve the needs of at-risk seniors. The project is a joint effort between non-profit corporations Wakeland Housing and St. Paul’s Senior Services. Inspired by local Streamline Moderne structures on El Cajon Boulevard, the building hosts lounges, meeting spaces and counseling offices at the street level. A small retail space and outdoor area anchors the south end of the project to provide street activation and enhanced walkability. A large second level resident terrace offers space for exercise, socializing and taking the breezes. Bright, airy, sustainable and forward-thinking, this affordable housing infill development is a proud addition to the historic Talmadge community.
COMPLETION: 2017 PROJECT TYPE: Affordable Senior Housing / Micro Flats SIZE / AREA: 60 Units / 37,763 square feet COST: $10 million
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T E S O RO G ROV E SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
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5
200
ft
r
100
G
0
o
v
e
A
v
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n
u
e
Interstate
MAKING A NEIGHBORHOOD On a leftover parcel near the United States-Mexico border, the Tesoro Grove development is constrained by a freeway, a pump station and the backs of adjacent properties. In response to this setting, Studio E Architects located buildings to de-fine plazas, common areas and a large community lawn linked by an internal street that creates a continuous and legible open space network. Porches, terraces and stoops give individual residences a safe-yet-engaged community relationship.
COMPLETION: 2003 AREA: XX,XXX sf, 106 units, COST: $9 million AWARDS: Grand Award, Residential Architect Magazine Design Awards, 2004 Merit Award, Gold Nugget Awards, Pacific Coast Builders Conference, 2004 Merit Award, Pillars of the Industry, National Association of Home Builders, 2004 Citation of Recognition, American Institute of Architects, San Diego, 2003
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T H E M E T RO P O L I TA N SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
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BOLD COLORS AND BRIGHT SPACES The Met North is a 102 unit tax-credit financed affordable housing project, which presents a varied and active frontage along a commercial thoroughfare opposite a new “big-box” super center. The design breaks up the massing in height and setbacks and concentrates common uses like lounges, laundries, workout room and management offices near the project entry. These common areas are extended out towards the sidewalk via patios filled with tables and umbrellas – further blurring the “residential only” program of the development. Inside the project wraps around a generous courtyard and clubhouse. Passive and active play and relaxation areas are developed to lure residents out of their units and into the landscape. Parking is efficiently handled in a two-level structure at the rear of the parcel. The concrete garage also serves as a sound buffer to the railroad tracks that run just beyond the rear property line.
COMPLETION: 2016 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: LEED /Equivilant System Rating AREA: XX,XXX square feet COST: $XX million
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V E R A N DA CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA
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STUDIOS ON A SLIVER PARCEL Veranda is an affordable senior housing project being developed in the heart of Silicon Valley - less than a half mile from the new Apple campus. Eighteen microunit apartments are arrayed in a narrow three-story building on a sliver site. A twobedroom manager’s unit, office, lounge and laundry area round out the building’s program. Parking is conveniently (and discreetly) placed at the rear of the parcel. Usable outdoor spaces are created on every available square foot surrounding the building - a reading terrace, a bar-b-que patio and a raised bed area as a small citrus grove. The bio-retention basin was sized and detailed to double as is a bocce ball lawn. A trellis covered front porch welcomes residents and visitors at the street front. Every unit enjoys a private balcony and a full galley style kitchen.
COMPLETION: 2019 SUSTAINABILITY RATING: LEED /Equivilant System Rating AREA: 14,000 square feet COST: $5.1million
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ABOUT US Founded in 1987, Studio E Architects is a San Diego based design collaborative, practicing throughout the Southwestern United States. The firm’s varied portfolio—private residences, housing, mixed-use, civic, institutional, and urban planning projects—has been recognized with numerous design awards and has been featured in scores of publications. The firm is led by four principals: Eric Naslund, FAIA, John Sheehan, AIA, Maxine Ward, AIA, and Mathilda Bialk, AIA. Studio E Architects’ work recognizes that the meaning and utility of architecture is grounded in a building’s physical and cultural context and thus responds to the natural environment, connects people to the places they inhabit and expresses a richer understanding of its place.
Address: 2258 1st Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 619-235-9262 Info at e-mail: john@studioearchitects.com Website: www.studioearchitects.com
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