Pensione Esperanza Affordable Housing, SRO
San Jose, California

This 109 unit Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotel designed to house low income individuals is located on a 0.93 acre site on the southeast corner of Bird and Columbia avenues in San Jose, on the edge of the central downtown district. The target population is individuals with income between 30% and 40% of median, a range that includes many of the part-time and full-time hourly wage workers in the downtown business sector of the city.

The three story 43,000 square foot wood frame building redefines its location as urban, creating a continuous edge along Bird Avenue, a major commercial boulevard. This edge includes the traditional downtown typology of pedestrian oriented retail with two floors of housing above. This frontage element is clad in cement plaster and galvanized metal. The site plan utilizes a dual orthogonal system strategy to fragment the design as it moves back from the main avenue. The off alignment and landscaped setback serve to literally and conceptually distance the purely residential uses from the city environment and grid. These pieces are also separated physically at their joints to provide a more fine-grained texture. They are sheathed in pressed wood/concrete siding which provides a transition to the surrounding residential neighborhood along Columbia Avenue.

awards

Best Affordable Design Award
Residential Architecture Awards
Builder's Choice Affordable Award
Builder's Magazine and National Association of Home Builders
Tax Credit Excellence Honorable Mention for Metropolitan and Urban Housing
Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition

project details

Client

Catholic Charities

Architect

David Baker + Partners

Structural Engineer

Tipping Mar + Associates

Contractor

Barry Swenson Builder

Photographer

Brian Rose