2014 BOY Winner: Apartment Building
When it comes to residential work, Patrick Tighe does more than just high-end. He’s also completed three affordable-housing projects, teaming up for the latest with John V. Mutlow, who has some senior housing to his credit. The architects’ philosophies overlap in that they believe that design should never be compromised. Which is extremely evident in this mixed-use building, which offers 32 apartments, won via a lottery, for homeless LGBT youths, the disabled, and people with HIV/AIDS.
Situated at a prominent intersection, the 50,000-square-foot development for the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation is even more of a beacon due to a corner elevator tower wrapped in a composition of overlapping aluminum ribbons lit by integral LEDs. The adjacent facade’s balconies recede behind a system of aluminum screens, their laser-cut pattern “an abstraction of the ribbons,” Tighe says.
Both he and Mutlow deemed outdoor connections vital. So the apartments, stacked for a rational and cost-effective layout, surround a planted courtyard. There’s no roof terrace, however. That space is occupied by photovoltaic panels that provide electricity and free hot water to all residents.
Project Team: Alan Dana; Andrea Urmanita; Shahab Adeli: John V. Mutlow Architects. Evelina Sausina; Chia Min Wang; William Hu; Nelson Almandrez; Haleh Olfati; Kervin Lau; Michael Ho; Ted Digiralomo; Hector Compagna; Grant Nunalee: Patrick Tighe Architecture.
