Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan finalist in the MCHAP 2014/2015
27/07/2016.
[LA] USA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
Los Angeles downtown has a new housing block for people who previously had no home. The project not only provides a more sustainable model of urban planning by increasing the density of the area, but also has the LEED Platinum certificate.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Vista del patio de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Vista del patio de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Vista del patio de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Inside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Vista trasera del conjunto de viviendas de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Vista exterior al atardecer de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Vista exterior al atardecer de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan. Imagen cortesía de los MCHAP.
Sunset outside view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of the MCHAP.
Vista nocturna exterior de los Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects. Fotografía © Iwan Baan.
Outside night view of the Star Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architects. Photograph © Iwan Baan.
Axonométrica. Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects.
Planta de situación y sotano. Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects.
Plantas baja y de apartamentos. Star Apartments por Michael Maltzan Architects.
The Star Apartments have been designed by the studio based in Los Angeles Michael Maltzan Architecture and have been selected as one of the finalists in the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize 2014/2015, awards that recognize the best works built in North and South America.
Description of the project by Michael Maltzan Architects
The new Star Apartments for the Skid Row Housing Trust transformed an existing one-story commercial building in downtown Los Angeles into a mixed-used complex with 102 apartments for formerly homeless individuals. The LEED for Homes Platinum development, located at 6th Street and Maple Avenue along the border of Skid Row, sets a new model for urbanism and increased density by adding new community spaces and residential levels above.
A mixed-use model for living
The six-story, 95,000 sf building expands upon the Skid Row Housing Trust’s model of providing permanent supportive housing within the downtown core by incorporating a new type of shared public space within the building. Star Apartments is organized around three principal spatial zones stacked one upon the other: a public health zone at street level; a second level for community and wellness programs; and four terraced floors of residences above. The building includes an onsite medical clinic, a 15,000 square foot Health and Wellness Center, and the new headquarters of the LA County Department of Health Services’ (DHS) Housing for Health Division.
Prefabrication & Sustainability
Not only is the integration of social services, community recreational facilities, and residential units a unique building program, but the project utilizes an innovative new construction methodology. Faced with a limited budget and tight schedule the design team determined that prefabricated modules lifted into place over the existing podium would help provide a higher quality of construction, meet tighter construction tolerances, accelerate construction time, and accomplish the project’s ambitious sustainability goals. Star Apartments is the first mixed-use, multi-unit residential project for formerly homeless individuals employing this construction method in Los Angeles.
More information
Design Architect & Architect of Record
Michael Maltzan Architects
Type
Affordable Housing, Social Services Counseling, Community Activities, Market-Rate Retail
Area
95,000 sf
Status
Completed 2014
LEED status
LEED for Homes Platinum
Budget
$19.3 million
Awards
Los Angeles Business Council Architectural Award, 2012; AIA Next LA Design Award, 2012
Venue
Los Angeles, California
MICHAEL MALTZAN ARCHITECTURE
Michael Maltzan Architecture. Founded in 1995, Michael Maltzan Architecture is an architecture and urban design Los Angeles-based practice. The practice’s work has been recognized with numerous accolades, including five Progressive Architecture awards, 31 citations from the American Institute of Architects, the Rudy Bruner Foundation’s Gold Medal for Urban Excellence, and was selected as a finalist for the Smithsonian/Cooper-Hewitt Museum’s National Design Award. This work has been featured in a number of international publications including Architecture, Architectural Record, Architectural Review, Artforum, A+U, Domus, Blueprint, GA Houses, Lotus, Los Angeles Times, Mark, Metropolis, and The New York Times.
Michael Maltzan received a Master of Architecture degree with a Letter of Distinction from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and he holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design where he received the Henry Adams AIA Gold Medal. His designs have been published and exhibited internationally and he regularly teaches and lectures at architectural schools around the world. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award.
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