La Casa Permanent Supportive Housing

2015 Residential Architect Design Awards
Affordable Housing
Award

The government of the District of Columbia has long provided a range of temporary accommodations for the city’s homeless, but La Casa Supportive Housing, designed by local firms Studio Twenty Seven Architecture and Leo A Daly, introduces a different paradigm: It offers permanent housing, in the form of full, single-occupancy living units, to 40 chronically homeless people. To avoid a structure that gives off an institutional look and feel (and any stigma for residents that could result from such a vibe), city officials required that the 29,192-square-foot building meet or exceed the design quality of the nearby market-rate condominiums in its neighborhood, Columbia Heights. With pleasantly offbeat fenestration, a double-height glass-enclosed lobby, and both concrete and bamboo floors throughout the daylit units, La Casa—which is seeking LEED Gold certification—does just that. —Amanda Kolson Hurley

From the Jury

“It has both an approach to its urbanism and its massing that responds to and engages with the city.” —John Frane

Project Credits

Architect: Studio Twenty Seven Architecture and Leo A Daly, Washington, D.C.
Project Size: 29,192 square feet
Construction Cost: $400 per square foot

Click here to see all of the winners from the 2015 Residential Architect Design Awards.