Olsova St. Multifamily

Commercial | 8000 sf | Bidding

The building sits on a parcel previously occupied by a single-family house. The site overlooks a park and is situated in a zone of transition between single-family homes and larger multi-family buildings.

Our developer-client approached us with a challenge: to devise a volume that would allow enough square footage increase to make the development economically feasible. As part of the planning procedure, we met with the neighborhood association and understood their requests: the maximum height should be similar to the neighboring houses, and the new building mass should not impede the view of the adjacent park from the intersecting streets.

The resulting design is a ground-up multi-family building with three apartments, including a penthouse duplex with a large terrace.

The volume composition, divided into two, breaks down the mass. The taller volume has a similar maximum height to the neighbor, but by using a shallower roof pitch and slightly lower floor-to-floor height, we could create room for a fourth floor, accessing the large terrace.

While the massing addresses our client’s concerns, our internal architecture motivation was to create a constant sense of connection to the surrounding natural landscape–a unique characteristic for dwelling units that are decidedly urban. The openings from the window in the unit’s entry foyer focus on the garden or the surrounding park.

The three-sided facade acknowledges the unusual corner condition with three intersecting roads. One of the volumes, housing the living areas, is rotated to maximize park views and southern light exposure while at the same time maintaining unobstructed views of the park from the street intersection.

The sculptural sky-lit public staircase creates a dramatic entrance while reconciling the geometries; in other words, the stairs allow the apartments’ interior layout to be orthogonal, despite the volume rotation.

Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape,