Best affordable seniors housing design for Global Awards shortlisted
MELBOURNE: The shortlist for the best affordable seniors housing design has been declared.
Over 250 designs have been considered by the awards secretariat. One of the finalists in this category is shown above.
The six-level building includes 59 affordable homes and social services for low-income and formerly unhoused families, including households gaining assistance through the Oakland Housing Authority.
The building is centered on a highly visible green “core” with an open-air stair that focuses attention on the connection between social zones, active uses, views, plantings, and art. Common spaces emphasize natural materials and a biophilic color palette. A leaf-inspired perforated metal screen across the façade balances views, heat gain, and filtered daylight for homes. Custom benches and a kinetic ceiling designed and fabricated by DBA_Workshop evoke a tree canopy in the entry lobby.
The six-story building offers excellent views of downtown Oakland, the East Bay Hills, and the San Francisco Bay from the residences, stair tower, glass-capped corridors, and bicycle rooms.
Part of the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Affordable Housing Pilot, the design is focused on achieving high levels of sustainability within a budget, combining simple massing and solar orientation as the basis for ambitious energy-consumption-reduction goals. The all-electric, ZNE-ready building features decentralized heat pump water heating and a 98 kW PV array that offsets 100% of common loads.
The Global Award winner will be announced in December in London. (Globals)