Brooks + Scarpa Architects
Affordable housing might not be the first typology that springs to mind while strolling along the promenades of Santa Monica—given that the municipality has the highest rents in southern California. Still, the beachside city wants to maintain socioeconomic diversity despite the ever-rising costs of living that have priced out many long-term residents. With the Brooks + Scarpa Architects-designed 430 Pico Place, the city, through a partnership with Community Corp . of Santa Monica, has added 32 new LEED Platinum affordable housing units less than a half a mile from the ocean. The Los Angeles–based design firm arranged two- and three-bedroom dwellings—ranging from 760 to 1,025 square feet¬—around a shared courtyard shaded by fabric screens. Planted balconies line this outdoor space, which also has a sidewalk-level community room. “I think the interplay of the different scales of outdoor public space is really well done here,” said juror Gregory Hoss. Cary Bernstein added, “There's a very layered set of options for occupying the private spaces and the public spaces.” A street-facing frame ties the building volumes together while promoting natural ventilation through the dwelling area; built for $162 per square foot overall, 430 Pico Place proves that affordability and sustainability can work in tandem.
Click here to see all of the winners of the 2014 Residential Architect Design Awards.
Project Credits
Project 430 Pico Place, Santa Monica, Calif.
Architect Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Los Angeles—Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, Angela Brooks, FAIA (partners)
General Contractor Morley Builders—Megan Folland
Developer Community Corp. of Santa Monica—Sarah Letts
Land Planner Brooks + Scarpa Architects
Landscape Architect PEG Office of Landscape + Architecture—Karen M’Closkey
Interior Designer Brooks + Scarpa Architects
Photography John Linden
Project Size 41,000 square feet
Construction Cost $162 per square foot
Materials and Sources
Bathroom Cabinets Custom recycled formaldehyde-free MDF
Bathroom Fittings and Fixtures American Standard americanstandard-us.com; Bobrick Washroom Equipment bobrick.com; Chicago Faucets chicagofaucets.com; Delta Faucet Co. deltafaucet.com; Kohler kohler.com; Toto USA totousa.com
Cooktop General Electric ge.com
Dishwasher General Electric ge.com
Doors Anemostat anemostat.com; McKeon Door Co. mckeondoor.com; Nationwide Industries nationwideindustries.com; Steelcraft Manufacturing Co .; Timely Industries timelyframes.com; T.M. Cobb tmcobb.com; Total Door totaldoor.com
Exterior Siding Cement board, recycled Portland cement (exterior), cement plaster with integral finish
Flooring Armstrong World Industries (natural linoleum) armstrong.com; Daltile daltile.com; Mohawk Industries (recycled-content residential carpet) mohawkflooring.com
Garage Doors Overhead Door Corp. overheaddoor.com
Hardware Elmes elmesworld.com; Ives iveshinges.com; Johnson Hardware johnsonhardware.com; LCN lcnclosers.com; Monarch; Pemko Manufacturing Co., an Assa Abloy Group Co. pemko.com; Rixson, an Assa Abloy Group Co. rixson.com; Schlage schlage.com; Trimco trimcobbw.com
Insulation Johns Manville (recycled-content, formaldehyde-free batts) jm.com
Kitchen Cabinets Custom recycled formaldehyde-free MDF
Kitchen Fittings and Fixtures American Standard americanstandard-us.com; Bobrick Washroom Equipment bobrick.com; Chicago Faucets chicagofaucets.com; Delta Faucet Co. deltafaucet.com; Kohler kohler.com; Toto USA totousa.com
Lighting Fixtures Cooper Lighting by Eaton, Halo cooperlighting.com; Capri Lighting (interior) caprilighting.com; Bega-US bega-us.com; Belfer belfer.com; Delray Lighting delraylighting.com; Prudential Lighting prulite.com; Cooper Lighting by Eaton, Shaper cooperindustries.com; Crescent/Stonco, a subsidiary of Philips Lighting (exterior) stonco.com
Paints and Finishes Dunn-Edwards (Ecoshield low-VOC interior) dunnedwards.com
Refrigerator General Electric ge.com
Roofing APOC apoc.com; Celotex celotex.co.uk; CertainTeed Corp. (four-ply modified bitumen membrane cool roof) certainteed.com; GAF Corp. gaf.com; Grefco
Windows Fleetwood Windows & Doors fleetwoodusa.com; Milgard Windows & Doors milgard.com; U.S. Aluminum usalum.com
