Nashville’s recent growth has pushed into Wedgewood Houston, a historically diverse community of makers, with a mix of for rent apartments and large townhomes.  As a result, existing residents can’t afford to stay, and new residents are coming in with little opportunity to invest in the neighborhood.  From the outset of this project, the team sought to counteract this two-part ownership crisis by bringing a for-sale product composed primarily of micro units that could be purchased at attainable prices.  The spectrum of units provides buyers with a variety of entry points, while creating future opportunities for residents to upsize their homes without leaving the building.

Additionally, where before there was no pedestrian realm, Maslow functions as an important stitch in the streetscape between the residential heart of the neighborhood and its commercial core.  Building on the design for equitable communities strategies, but turning focus onto the end user, the design concept for this project sought to provide an integrative architecture that reinforced the hierarchy of needs as laid out by psychologist Abraham Maslow.  The thesis being that the end users would be self-actualized individuals who value the essential over excess. To this end, the design team compiled a list of every function and luxury one might desire in a home.

Indexed into the essentially private, fittingly semi-public and preferably public, these indices informed the program of the units, the types and locations of amenity spaces contained within the project and finally, the operations that owners could rely on the neighborhood to provide, thus reinforcing the symbiotic relationship of the owners and the surrounding community.  Building on the foundations of strengthening the community through housing diversity and developing a project whose end user program prioritizes what is essential over excess, Maslow is full of moments designed for well-being. Residents’ amenities including a wellness space, open air porches, vertical garden and residents’ library are given priority of place over individual units.  Each amenity space prioritizes natural light, fresh air and opportunity for intersection for residents. The exterior material palette favors durable materials that will age gracefully in the Nashville’s wide ranging climate zone.