office dA

Ten units of grand-family housing (housing for seniors who have custody of a grandchild or other minor) and a learning center with Head Start and senior-center facilities.The overall design strategy works as both architecture and landscape. Courtyards organize the ten housing units on a north/south grain and give each house a private outdoor space as well as semi public walkways, paths, and terraces for socializing. The courtyard surfaces fold up to become green roofs over the housing units. The housing unit plan and windows are arranged such that the air may circulate and temper the environmental conditions of the house, minimizing the necessity for air conditioning. Hot air rises and escapes the interiors through clerestory windows. Landscaping, louvers and sunshades have cooling effects in summer, while permitting natural light, and therefore heat, to reach the interiors in winter, when the sun’s angle is low.
The learning center also features a green roof. A perforated shade over the learning center façade defines the building’s relationship to the street and simultaneously provides the sustainable benefits of blocking unwanted heat gain. The design of the center also incorporates an outdoor garden, designed as a series of terraces planted with flowers and vegetables.