Brooks + Scarpa unveils Rose apartments, a new mixed-use residential building providing affordable housing to youth transitioning out of a juvenile facility or foster care who would otherwise be homeless.
Designed for the non-profit Venice Community Housing (VCH), the 35-unit structure sits at a strategic location on Rose Avenue in the Venice neighbourhood of LA, with all the required amenities just a few blocks away.
The four-storey structure greets the adjoining avenue with its light and airy volumes, composed of lush green terraces and roof decks. Taking inspiration from the 1919 Horatio West Court apartments designed by Irving Gill, the building is characteristic of courtyard typology and clean white volumes.
The structure is a contemporary visualisation of Los Angeles’ long-known courtyard typology, providing walkable neighbourhoods as an alternative to urban sprawl. While the base of the building comprises offices and commercial space, the housing units are organised around a central courtyard, establishing a direct visual connection and a sense of community.
The exterior is clad in white cement plaster with a sparkle grain finish that adds a lustrous appeal to the facade. Additionally, the walls are bevelled, giving a notion of depth, relief, and texture. Certified as LEED gold, the building features passive design elements, solar water-heating panels and so on.
Therefore, the overall form, massing and composition of the structure, with open-air gardens and metal trellises, not only fulfils the needs of the young users but also embraces the surrounding neighbourhood.
