San Francisco CA | Completed
This LEED Gold building features four levels of homes for seniors above neighborhood services and retail spaces. The multigenerational community is paired with Armstrong Place—an adjacent family townhouse development to the west—and is part of a larger trend of transit-oriented development along this corridor.
The sustainable homes—studios and one-bedroom units—enclose a sunny bi-level courtyard and sit atop commercial spaces that house senior services and restaurants. Twenty-three of the apartments are set aside for formerly homeless seniors participating in San Francisco’s Direct Access to Housing Program. The building’s reduced parking reflects the auto-ownership of the population and prioritizes space along the street edge for commercial and service use.
The landscaping—vegetated bioswales along the street plus a landscaped mews and courtyard rain garden—does double-duty, adding green zones and creating a wetlands to manage runoff, easing the burden on the city system.
The colorful building is wrapped in a “quilt wall”—a bright, patterned facade inspired by African textiles. Set into the textured concrete, tribal Adinkra symbols representing abundance and other positive qualities adorn the central courtyard. African-inspired design elements throughout were developed with the local community and reflect the traditionally African-American population of the Bayview neighborhood.
Project Details
5600 Third Street
San Francisco, CA
United States
Total 116
