Sponsors, Inc. - Roosevelt Crossing Transitional Housing

I'm happy to say that one of my next shoots will be for ESSEX construction's newly completed project, the Sponsors, Inc. Roosevelt Crossing facility. The Roosevelt Crossing is a live-in facility for former inmates. The trio of buildings has the capacity to house over 70 men and women in three buildings on an acre of land. The property is wedged between Highway 99 and Roosevelt Blvd. in West Eugene on a very busy intersection. It should prove to be a challenging shoot as the buildings are fairly close together with a good amount of infrastructure (in the form of powerlines, traffic signals, signage, etc) to get in the way.

That being said, I'm looking forward to shooting a Bergsund DeLaney project... I've always been fond of their work. Even their more monumental projects are usually tastefully integrated into the neighborhood using simple and attractive materials with an honest, straightforward approach.

Housing Websites (Precedents galore)

A pair of gems, University of Oregon Professors Michael Fifield & Mark Gillem, put together this gem of a competition just last year. The resulting website is jam-packed with information and presentations by a myriad of talented designers.

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I'm just two weeks from graduation and I just discovered a site that could been a big help over the past three years. HousingPrototypes.org is a fairly dry site but it is packed with precedents organized by architect, location, or housing type.

Am I done yet?

I don't know that I'm done yet... I'm not done yet... but I need to put my final presentation boards and booklets together in the next... 10 days! Yeah, flaws and all, I have to be done.

Eastlake - Thesis/Intent Revisited

Hypothesis
The Eastlake community is at a turning point. As real estate rates increase affordable housing is disappearing and many home buyers and renters are being forced to look elsewhere for housing. Meanwhile, the diverse living and working conditions of a slow-growth, working class community, with multiple small business and property owners, is at risk. As multiple smaller properties are purchased by large developers they are being consolidated and renewed with large office blocks and condominiums. The resulting changes to the fabric of the Eastlake threatens the existing character and culture resulting in the gentrification of its native and historic inhabitants.

Thesis
They key to maintaining the culture and variety of Seattle’s Eastlake is in providing and preserving a diversity of living and working conditions within the existing fabric and scale of the community. These goals can be achieved in a number of ways.

1. Provide a diversity of housing types for a variety of incomes including affordable housing.
   
2. Provide a diversity of commercial building types and functions to attract and employ a variety business types and people.
   
3. Design in ways that are sympathetic to a variety of transportation types including bus, light-rail, commercial vehicles, automobile, bicycle and pedestrian.
   
4. Create structures that fit the existing fabric both in scale (massing), materials, and character.
   
5. Create spaces that provide opportunity for community and human interaction.
   
6. Provide support in the form of shared local services.
   
7. Environtmental/Green Design
   
8. Create places of pause by providing spaces where individuals can find inspiration and refuge from daily life. Make it humane!

SOURCES INCLUDE: Eastlake Neighborhood Plan

Midterm Review - Axon & Review Summary

AXON - FACING NORTHWESTClick image for a larger view
This is probably the most "telling" image expressing what I'd like to do with the site.

The ~40' x ~90' courtyard space extends North-South to bring in as much southern light as possible. The units on the south are ~15' x ~30' live-work townhouses. The eastern-most live-work townhouse is 2-stories to allow more light to enter the courtyard while the other three are three stories.

The near (east) row of buildings facing the street are ~15' x ~40' commercial at the ground with ~15' x ~30' studio apartments above. The upper two floors are two-story lofts (also with a ~15 x ~30' floorplate).

It was suggested, during my midterm review, that a "rentable" space be provided for visiting relatives. I feel that a studio unit or two could be reserved for this type of use.

It was also suggested that the idea of preserving Zoo Tavern be abandoned as employees and customers are not likely to return after a year of demoliton and construction. While I agree that this would likely be the case I do feel that a commercial space can be designed to accommodate a new Zoo Tavern or similar business. The other commercial spaces will be equipped to house, ideally, small retail stores, groceries, and/or eateries.

Midterm Review - Floorplate Diagrams

Getting it all to fit together has been something of a challenge. I'm attempting to work in 15x30' modules but a 15 foot wide stuio with a 3' set of stairs leaves only about 10' of wall-to-wall space once utilities and wall thicknesses are accounted for. I may have to expand a bit to 16 or 18 foot units. This will diminish the density a bit but as long as I am over 40/acre I'll be happy.

The site is about 102' by 120'. Current unit count of 23 unites on 12,240 sf (or 80 units per acre) is certainly quite dense.

It might be beneficial to separate the units to allow air/light to pay between but the party-walls certainly make things more affordable in both construction and maintenance. (not to mention the heating/cooling benefits).

Midterm Review - Massing Model

The site is on the NW corner of Eastlake and Lynn in Seattle on the site of the Eastlake Zoo Tavern. This model shows my concept model at the center facing Northeast. The freeway is aproximately two blocks up the hill to the east and Lake Union is downhill three blocks to the west. The shadows are currently set for 5pm on October 20th.

Key elements of this model are the buildings to the north and south of the Eastlake Zoo. The northern building runs flush to the property line providing a 40' wall to the north. The southern building, across Lynn, is a new 40' condominium building called the Eastlake Lofts. (Unfortunately... it looks like that name is already taken...)

Eastlake Building - Thesis & Intent

Images taken from Seattle Department of Planning Website
Eastlake Plan Vision Statement:
To enhance the diverse character of the Eastlake neighborhood while ensuring the responsible stewardship of our natural and constructed environment, and cultivating a strong sense of community.

Hypothesis & Issues:
Too often new housing in up-and-coming neighborhoods is designed only for the production of capital which results in rapid gentrification and a loss of historic culture. While rejuvenation of aging buildings and infrastructure is encouraged, existing historic neighborhood institutions are often disregarded as being too run down and/or insignificant to preserve. What would happen if, in an up-and-coming community that was formerly blue-collar like Seattle’s Eastlake Neighborhood, developers preserved the existing institutions of the “lower class” while also working meet their own financial needs and those of the newer white-collar tenants? Key issues would be as follows:

• Anti-Gentrification techniques
  
• Some affordable housing, some high-end housing
  
• Shared utilities and spaces like laundry rooms and lounges
  
• Street Life through mixed-use and live/work
  
• Retaining Zoo Tavern, a market & a restaurant
  
• Good design... not necessarily expensive materials
  
• Sustainability meeting “SeaGreen” standards

Links:
Department of Neighborhoods, Eastlake Plan - Seattle.gov
Department of Planning & Development: Research - Seattle.gov
Office of Housing - Seattle.gov

Eastlake Zoo Tavern - Seattle

Photo's Copyright 2008 - Erik Bishoff Photography
Our terminal studio investigated a number of possible building sites in Seattle. We were offered a tour of the Eastlake neighborhood by former UO Dean Jerry Finrow who lives in the area. After some deliberation, I selected the NE corner of the intersection of Eastlake & Lynn for my design site. Eastlake & Lynn is home to the landmark Eastlake Zoo Tavern, a brooding office building, a 80's era mini-mart below parking, and a decent-enough looking building called the Eastlake Lofts. Our site extends north about 120' from Lynn to the south side of (lets be blunt) an ugly brick office building. Trying to build over a historic working-class landmark, in an already gentrified neighborhood will be a challenge. The inevitable end of the Eastlake Zoo Tavern is on the horizon but I'd like to come up with some way to preserve, in some way, the essence of the historic life and energy of the Tavern.

Resources:
Eastlake Zoo Tavern carving out a place in New Seattle - Seattle Post Intelligencer
Eastlake Lofts Update - Wendy Leung's Seattle Condo Review
Condo boom just starting, experts say - Seattle Post Intelligencer
Terminal Studio Photographs - ErikBishoff.smugmug.com
On the Bottle, Off the Streets, Halfway There (1811 Eastlake) - New York Times
Photos of Eastlake Zoo Tavern - Yelp.com

We were Roto-Brudered!

Our highly-anticipated final review has passed and I have grown humbler as a result. My project-partner (a practicing architect of 14 years) says I am more thin-skinned than he is because he thought it went quite well. In retrospect I think he's right but at the time I was feeling pretty glum.

The fact is, we decided to not play it safe this term. I feel that many school projects around here have mostly-but-not-qute-succeed through some element of mediocrity and I thought it ws time to take some major chances. In retrospect, I'm glad we did. For starters, we built a 500' long 7-story building on the west side of our site (see the image below for more information). This massive slab of a building was broken down into individual units and architectural elements like tall landscaping, a non-uniform facade, and multiple roof heights, in an attempt to make it feel less monumental. I felt our project was strong but most of our reviewers seemed conflicted. Not conflicted in a "this is good in parts and not-so-good in others" but in a "How do we tell these guys this is awful without hurting their feelings?"

In any case, it was refreshing to have visiting lecturer Will Bruder along for the ride. His participation in the final reviews (and his hospitality when we were visiting his home in Phoenix) made the whole experience one of the highlights of my academic career. What a treat!