Step Up on Fifth, Santa Monica, Calif.

Step Up On Fifth

pugh + scarpa architects, santa monica

This affordable housing for homeless and mentally disabled residents impressed the jury with its artful blend of private and semi-public zones. “It’s an incredibly dense site, and yet you have all these nice outdoor spaces,” observed one judge. “It fits into the urban condition.”

The 46-unit project by Pugh + Scarpa Architects contains space for supportive services, as well as a first-floor gallery featuring artwork by residents. All circulation is exterior, and a series of passive solar strategies—cross-ventilation and metal shading devices, for example—greatly reduces the building’s carbon footprint while enhancing inhabitants’ quality of life. Community rooms and a pair of second-floor courtyards provide safe, sheltered places to socialize. “The community kitchens are a way to get people out of their units,” says Angela Brooks, AIA, LEED AP, of Pugh + Scarpa. To satisfy city requirements, the building also incorporates an underground 23-car parking lot complete with a hydraulic lift system.

Project Credits
principal in charge: Angela Brooks, AIA, LEED AP, Pugh + Scarpa Architects, www.pugh-scarpa.com
lead designer: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, Pugh + Scarpa Architects
developer: Tod Lipka, Step Up on Second, Santa Monica, Calif.
general contractor: Frank Ruiz, P.E., Ruiz Brothers Construction Co., City of Commerce, Calif., www.ruizbrothers.com
interior designer: Pugh + Scarpa Architects
project size: 220 square feet to 275 square feet per unit
site size: 0.2 acre; construction cost: $361 per square foot
rental price: approximately 30 percent of tenant’s monthly income
units in project: 46
photography: John Edward Linden