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January 2015 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly —
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most of us. Yet, critical conversations
about how this dramatic shift is
fundamentally changing the design
aesthetic of downtown Denver, or
how such a massive number and/
or percentage of renters condensed
into such a small area will impact
residents' ownership of and engage-
ment in our city, are not taking place
anywhere.
This is the time for those who
care about the long-term viability
and vibrancy of our great city to
pause and consider whether there
might be more appealing, innova-
tive approaches to building a time-
less, dynamic residential urban core
before it's too late.
Somehow, while we were weather-
ing the recent recession, it appears
that valuing innovation, offering
people viable choices, improving the
lives of occupants, enhancing the
environment and reaching beyond
the notion of duplicating what oth-
ers have already done has been for-
gotten in Denver.
In other cities, architects and
developers – both in the U.S. and
abroad – have been actively ques-
tioning this formulaic approach to
housing for some time. They already
have begun reimagining local hous-
ing solutions and reaching beyond
the simple quest of maximizing net
leasable square footage, or catering
exclusively to millennials and young
professionals.
Because great ideas relative to
high-density housing seem to come
from other countries before making
their way to one of our coasts and
eventually showing up in Denver,
three very different multifamily
housing projects come to mind as
recent examples. One is located in
Copenhagen, Denmark, (multifamily
housing), another is in San Francisco
(affordable senior housing) and the
third is in Seoul, South Korea (micro-
housing). What is most compelling
about these projects, however, is
the special care the architects took
to respect context, integrate social
spaces throughout the buildings (not
merely at street level) and maxi-
mize useable exterior space. Unlike
some of the most recent five-story
apartment boxes built in downtown
Denver, these projects embrace
the concepts of outdoor living and
social interaction while responding
thoughtfully to context. Through
innovative approaches to unit stack-
ing and shape, redefining the ground
plane, integration of the car and the
exploration of vertical neighbor-
hoods, they have successfully begun
to reimagine what 21st century
housing can be.
For example, The Mountain mul-
tifamily project located in Copen-
hagen and designed by the Bjarke
Ingels Group (BIG) and JDS Architects
incorporates L-shaped units with
outdoor protected courtyards ter-
raced vertically to allow each unit to
have full sun exposure and privacy.
Each unit opens to its own private
courtyard, which creates more use-
able outdoor space than the minis-
cule projecting balconies found in
most Denver apartment buildings.
The triangular profile of this build-
ing's base also hides parking in a
clever way and makes the proces-
sion from car to unit both exciting
and dramatic. A similar project by
BIG on West 57th Street – within the
dense urban context of Manhattan –
uses a unique, warped pyramid form
to preserve existing views, maximize
natural light and create a diversity of
unit types within a hybrid courtyard/
skyscraper building.
David Baker Architects, a respected
California firm doing amazing work
in the affordable housing sector,
designed the next example. The
recently completed Armstrong
Senior Housing, an affordable senior
housing project in San Francisco,
was designed to avoid the aes-
thetic stigma or traditional plan-
ning themes that often lead to the
downfall of projects of this type.
The exterior is vibrant, fresh and
dynamic, reflecting the neighbor-
hood's African-American population
through the tradition of African tex-
tiles. The residences – predominant-
ly studios and one-bedroom units
– wrap around a private courtyard
and sit on top of commercial space
that houses shops, senior services,
a library and a community center,
which contribute to residents' sense
of connection to their community.
The final example, the Songpa
Micro-Housing project in Seoul,
South Korea, designed by Jinhee Park
and John Hong of SsD, integrates
vertical circulation as social space,
which also functions as a linear
micro café and ramp/amphitheatre
that lead to a lower-level exhibition
area. Each unit includes semipub-
lic circulation and balconies while
visual extensions and hallways are
designed to function as collabora-
tive spaces that seamlessly trans-
form from private to semiprivate to
open space. This dynamic, flexible
mixed-use housing consists of 14
"unit blocks," which allow residents
to either claim a single unit, or in
the case where a couple or friends
require more space, recombine the
blocks for larger configurations on a
temporary or permanent basis.
The above projects represent a few
of the newest and best examples of
innovative, contextual design within
the multifamily sector. While each
originally began with a standard
program with specific goals relative
to unit mix and size, the architects
chose to venture far beyond what
was expected, ultimately explor-
ing opportunities that broaden both
their clients’ expectations and the
traditional concepts of housing, indi-
vidual units and one's connection to
community.
In conclusion, developers, inves-
tors, builders and architects must
begin asking whether the economic
success of repetitive, five-story wood
apartment boxes is enough. Housing
solutions that enhance our environ-
ment, strengthen our urban condi-
tion, and bring a sense of perma-
nence and longevity to our collective
future must be seriously pursued
before it's too late.
Downtown Denver could be a
leader in generating multigenera-
tional, diversified, innovative mul-
tifamily housing. We could easily
compete with a Portland, Oregon,
or a Vancouver, British Columbia, or
some of the more innovative cities
around the world. Yet, in parallel to
the recent surge in rental apartment
construction, we have experienced a
simultaneous decline in unit types,
variety and quality – not to mention
a serious lack of design innovation.
Is the building of repetitive, banal
housing solutions the best we can
do? Perhaps we can come together
to initiate a long overdue revolution-
ary conversation in our city.
s
Design
Photo courtesy: Brian Rose courtesy of David Baker Architects
The vibrant exterior of the Armstrong Senior Housing project in San Francisco, reflects
the neighborhood’s culture.
Photo courtesy: SsD Architecture
Songpa micro-housing in Seoul, Korea, features 14 standard units stacked to create
unique private and semi-public spaces around them.