Aerial twilight view of Alvarado Park multi-family housing in San Jose
An aerial precedent for multi-family affordable housing utilizing color-blocked volume articulation and an active elevated podium courtyard.
- What we like about this project
- Extensive photovoltaic array covers nearly the entire flat roof surface, integrating sustainability visibly into the design.
Materials
- stucco
- concrete
- metal
- glass
- photovoltaic-panels
Visual identifiers
- elevated-podium-deck
- colored-block-massing
- solar-panels
- multi-family-housing
Style tags
- contemporary
- housing
- color-blocked
Visual tags
- housing
- podium-courtyard
- aerial-view
- color-blocked
- sustainable-energy
- Geometry
- Multi-block perimeter residential complex arranged around a large elevated podium courtyard with stepped volumes and flat roofs.
- Facade system
- Stucco and cement plaster finish over framed walls with punched aluminum windows and metal balconies.
- Structural guess
- Wood-frame construction over concrete podium garage structure.
- Spatial scale
- Large multi-story residential complex, approximately four to five stories tall over parking/podium base.
- Lighting
- Twilight dusk lighting with warm artificial illumination glowing from courtyard fixtures and interior windows against cool blue hour ambient light.
- Atmosphere
- Warm and inviting community focus amid a sprawling suburban fabric.
- Environmental context
- Suburban-to-urban transition zone featuring low-rise residential neighbors alongside a multi-lane street grid.
- Spatial experience
- The elevated deck creates a protected outdoor community room raised above the street and parking levels.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating punched window patterns contrasting with solid colored end-walls and alternating blue, yellow, and white building blocks.
- Style reading
- Contemporary multi-family residential architecture
- Program
- Affordable multi-family housing
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- stucco, concrete, metal, glass, photovoltaic-panels
- Visual identifiers
- elevated-podium-deck, colored-block-massing, solar-panels, multi-family-housing
- Style tags
- contemporary, housing, color-blocked
- Visual tags
- housing, podium-courtyard, aerial-view, color-blocked, sustainable-energy
- Geometry
- Multi-block perimeter residential complex arranged around a large elevated podium courtyard with stepped volumes and flat roofs.
- Facade system
- Stucco and cement plaster finish over framed walls with punched aluminum windows and metal balconies.
- Structural guess
- Wood-frame construction over concrete podium garage structure.
- Spatial scale
- Large multi-story residential complex, approximately four to five stories tall over parking/podium base.
- Lighting
- Twilight dusk lighting with warm artificial illumination glowing from courtyard fixtures and interior windows against cool blue hour ambient light.
- Atmosphere
- Warm and inviting community focus amid a sprawling suburban fabric.
- Environmental context
- Suburban-to-urban transition zone featuring low-rise residential neighbors alongside a multi-lane street grid.
- Spatial experience
- The elevated deck creates a protected outdoor community room raised above the street and parking levels.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating punched window patterns contrasting with solid colored end-walls and alternating blue, yellow, and white building blocks.
- Style reading
- Contemporary multi-family residential architecture
- Program
- Affordable multi-family housing
- Perspective
- Aerial/Site
- Discipline
- architecture