Drs. Julian and Raye Richardson Apartments

“The solution to homelessness is a home,” says David Schnur, director of housing development for the San Francisco–based nonprofit Community Housing Partnership (CHP), while sitting in the courtyard of the new Richardson apartments. “This is not transitional housing—it is permanent. As long as someone pays their rent and follows our basic house rules, they can stay here for life.”

Designed by local firm David Baker + Partners, the Richardson was developed in collaboration with another nonprofit—Mercy Housing—but is owned and managed by CHP. It provides 120 300-square-foot studio apartments as well as a medical clinic and psychological counseling services for the formerly homeless and for those in danger of becoming homeless.

The five-story, U-shaped building hosts glass-fronted retail spaces at the corner and along one street edge. Its massing is carefully controlled by shifts in surface and materials on the façade, moving from zinc cladding with recycled wood insets, to simply detailed white stucco, to a carefully calibrated chartreuse paint. “We expected the zinc piece to get value-engineered out,” says project architect Amit Price Patel, “but the slow economy worked in our favor. We got to keep it along with a lot of other more refined and durable materials and surfaces.”

And durability is key. Behind its gracious urban façade, the building houses a community that can be rough on a building: Many residents have physical or psychological disabilities, while others have been on the street so long that they have forgotten how to care for a permanent home. “As the owners of our buildings, we prefer to upgrade materials to maximize life-cycle and maintenance costs,” Schnur says. “A well-designed and maintained building also adds dignity to the lives of our residents.”

Security is necessary, but is not overbearing. Discreetly placed cameras scan the exterior of the building. No resident has a key to the front door. Instead, they are buzzed into a secure lobby by the front desk—staffed 24 hours a day by trained personnel—before being admitted to the rest of the facility. But nothing about the entry sequence feels institutional: the custom-designed front desk and mailboxes would not be out of place in a high-end loft building. Generous windows connect the lobby with an adjacent lounge, fostering community while allowing oversight.

A landscaped central courtyard features custom-designed tables and seating, and allows residents to gather outside, away from the street. Foldable glass walls in the ground-floor multipurpose room open onto the courtyard. On the other side, the clinic takes advantage of the daylight but still maintains privacy with a patterned glass wall. Anchoring one end of the courtyard is an open-air staircase. “I like to put these exterior stairs in,” design principal David Baker, FAIA, says. “They … foster chance encounters between residents.”

On the four apartment floors, what might have been drab, double-loaded corridors instead are deftly designed with brightly painted light coves carved into the ceiling at the unit doors. The efficiently laid-out apartments come with durable custom furniture and basic kitchen equipment.

The Richardson sits just two blocks from the gilded dome of San Francisco City Hall. The project initially provoked a NIMBY response from residents of the rebounding neighborhood, necessitating extensive work with various community groups to assuage concerns. The city, however, was a huge advocate for the project from the beginning. The site was granted to the developers by the Redevelopment Agency, and the city waived parking-space requirements.

The Richardson cost $26.8 million to build, and that price tag seems high with rents set at just 30 to 50 percent of the income of each resident. Schnur maintains that the quality of the architecture was eminently important in winning over the neighbors. In addition, he says, “Our tenants feel good living in good architecture. They are motivated to keep their lives together so they can stay.” And the Richardson will save the city money as well. Dr. Joshua Bamberger, medical director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health ran the numbers using records for the 120 Richardson residents. Last year, they used $2.4 million in city and other services. With the on-site clinic alone, it is expected that these costs will be drastically reduced. Bamberger looks forward to doing the math again next year, and in so doing, prove the value of housing the homeless.

Project Credits

Project Drs. Julian and Raye Richardson Apartments, San Francisco
Client Community Housing Partnership, Mercy Housing California
Architect and Interior Designer David Baker + Partners, San Francisco—David Baker, FAIA (design principal); Peter MacKenzie, AIA (principal-in-charge); Amit C. Price Patel, AIA (project architect); Brit Epperson, Amanda Loper, AIA, Sara Mae Martens, Angela Thomson, John Thompson, AIA
M/P Engineer Tommy Siu and Associates Mechanical Engineers
Electrical Engineer FW Associates
Structural Engineer Structural Design Engineers
Civil Engineer Sandis
General Contractor Cahill Contractors
Landscape Architect Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture
Lighting Designer Horton Lees Brogden
Affiliated Government Agency San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
Owners’ Representative Design Studios Gonzalo Castro
Associate Architect Baker Vilar Architects
Security Systems Teletech Security
Solar Sun, Light and Power
Interiors Furnishings and Equipment Fee Munson Ebert (common spaces); Market Design (residential units)
Public Art Evelyn Reyes/Creativity Explored
Clinic/Health Services UCSF Citywide Case Management Program; San Francisco Department of Public Health
Work Training Toolworks
Acoustical Engineer Wilson Ihrig & Associates
Waterproofing Consultant Gale Associates
Size 65,419 square feet
Cost $26.86 million (construction)