Oakland CA | Completed
Coliseum Place brings affordable homes, on-site social services, and green space to a historically underserved neighborhood in East Oakland. Adjacent to the Coliseum BART station, this transit-oriented community sits between a residential neighborhood and BART parking lot, reclaiming a formerly industrial site that faced a series of urban challenges ranging from illegal dumping to unsafe pedestrian access and insufficient open space.
The six-story building centers on a highly visible green “core,” with an open-air staircase that links and highlights the connection between social zones, active uses, views, landscaping, and art. Common spaces emphasize natural materials and biophilic design principles. A leaf-inspired perforated metal screen across the façade balances views, heat gain, and filtered daylight for the homes. The lobby is lined with custom benches and a kinetic sculptural ceiling representing a tree canopy.
The community includes two residential courtyards, a community room, bicycle storage, shared laundry, and social services for low-income and formerly unhoused families, including households assisted by the Oakland Housing Authority.
The project was part of the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Affordable Housing Pilot, which strengthened the project’s health and wellness goals and led to an all-electric design with an innovative, decentralized water heating system and a 98 kW PV array offsetting 100% of common loads.
Coliseum Place transforms a severely underutilized contaminated site into a vibrant community of 59 family homes that meets the definition of a zero-emissions building while also embodying the principle of discovery—serving as the subject of several research studies that advanced sustainable design best practices for affordable multifamily housing without imposing burden on low-income residents.
Project Details
7120 Hawley Street
Oakland, CA
United States
Total 59
