Storefront glazing

Part of the city’s revamped Inclusionary Housing Program, this 47-unit development in Williamsburg integrates 100% affordable and supportive housing in one building. Eight units are reserved for independent adults living with developmental disabilities, and a ground-floor office provides onsite support service for these residents.   Frost Street Apartments is also highly sustainable, requiring 15% less energy than the baseline. To help achieve energy efficiency and building performance targets, the design team chose an economical and efficient structure composed of precast concrete planks on ICF (Insulated Concrete Formwork) bearing walls, and a brick façade enclosure. This substantial exterior envelope, along with high-... More

Carmen Troesser   Acting as architect and builder, our latest project is a renovated existing corner cafe, now home to the modern urban coffee shop — Dollop Coffee. Large windows that allow sunlight to filter deep into the space, custom seating, and a landscaped parkway create warm and inviting spaces to enjoy coffee and made-from-scratch donuts during all four seasons. The challenge with any existing storefront space is maximizing seating for customers without feeling crowded and peeling back layers of dated materials to expose the bones of the building. One never knows what lurks behind crusty old drywall. The upside of tearing down non-load-bearing walls is uncovering hidden architectural features like the exposed mason... More

Best Practice Unveils Brand New Athletic Space Within The Columbia CenterWORKout dazzles with bright colors, dynamic signage and luxurious materials   Best Practice Architecture's newest hospitality project –WORKout– is now open in Seattle's iconic Columbia Center. With a bold use of color, lighting, graphics and materials, the team has developed an inventive and upscale amenity for the members of the building . Fully reimagining several former retail storefront spaces into one for members of club WORKout, the design team created a new 7750 sf location accommodating large, open work-out areas for innovative new equipment, a studio for classes, spa-like locker rooms, and a private massage suite. Taking ownership of not onl... More

The AISD Performing Arts Center (PAC) is the first purpose-built, district-wide Fine Arts facility in the 134-year history of the Austin Independent School District. Approved via special bond election, the state-of-the-art venue was completed on time and below budget (under $350/sq ft), and serves more than 84,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade at 129 schools, exemplifying the community and district's commitment to making Fine Arts education available to all.   As the school district's foremost arts education facility, the PAC provides flexible space for a variety of activities including: orchestra, band, choir, theater, dance, visual arts exhibitions, and professional development. The center promotes student and perso... More

In 2014, Sasaki completed a study of Dartmouth College’s residential life experience. Following recommendations from this study, the college officially moved to a house system in 2016. This change will strengthen community, promote continuity of friendship over students’ college careers, and increase opportunities for deeper intellectual engagement through informal interactions. The six house communities are formed from clusters of existing residence halls, many of which were built between 1920–50. As this housing stock had not been built to accommodate student life needs, four communities required additional common space to support the new house programming. Sasaki designed two temporary House Centers to meet this need. The&... More

Metaphorical Poem for the Design by Travis Price: “ThinEdge Floating between Parted Waters “Hushed Sigh of Water Held ….. Rippled Rocks, Reveling into View Velvet Sunlight Dappled on Watering Sky1.    LOCATION / CONTEXTThe home is located along the Potomac River above the great spillway in Bethesda MD about 15 minutes from Georgetown in Washington DC. The site is narrow with a long cascaded drop of about 200 feet into the C&O canal and the Potomac River 2.   CLIENT / PROGRAM: Master suite with master bathroom and walk-in closet, 3 additional bedrooms, 3 baths, living, dining, 2 offices, kitchen with pantry, elevator, laundry room, family room, storage, 2 car  gar... More

The six-story, 95,000 sf Star Apartments expands upon the client’s model of providing permanent supportive housing within the downtown core of Los Angeles. The building is organized around three principal spatial zones, stacked one upon the other: a commercial/retail zone at street level; a second level for community programs; and four terraced floors of residences above. The building design facilitates a recovery process for homeless residents based on positive re-socialization, healthy interpersonal relations, and wellness. The client and design team led numerous community design sessions with residents as well as property management and resident services staff to attain feedback that directly impacted the design. The project seeks t... More

This 2055 sf L/A home for a young couple is located in a highly codified enclave within the Country Club of Louisiana, a gated community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was designed to conform to the traditional neighborhood’s many restrictions, while still managing to express the owner’s unique taste and style. Working within the mandated palette of stucco exteriors and a mission style clay tile roof, the architects were able to capture a decidedly modern feel in this transitional home. In order to maximize the feel of the relatively small footprint, the architects arranged the plan to allow every major room to engage a large private courtyard, allowing light and views to make each room feel larger. With the sparkling pool as its focal p... More

The Tire Shop is MARK+VIVI's inaugural project located in the transitioning city of Verdun, Quebec. The renovated 800 sq.ft space, a former tire shop, functioned as the designers’ live/work studio and housed La Façade Art + Architecture, a storefront gallery dedicated to the exhibition of local contemporary art and experimental architecture. Originally built in 1920, the Tire Shop’s newly exposed structure supports the playful integration of simple, raw, modern, industrial materials with smart and efficient design. “We have had an overwhelmingly positive response from our neighborhood” say designers Mark Fekete and Viviana de Loera. “We wanted to create a home that served as a catalyst for the design community while providing oppor... More

Located in the densely populated gallery neighborhood of Chelsea in Manhattan, the Paul Kasmin Gallery seeks to create a new dialogue between pedestrian, visitor, and art. The design of the gallery creates a clean open space connecting the street to the inside. The gallery features a floor to ceiling glass façade, allowing over sized pieces of art to be delivered. The interior space benefits from a large skylight, flooding the space with natural light. The façade has two defined architectural attributes: the storefront glazing system and the full height aluminum façade. While the perforated gate of the aluminum loading dock gate provides security, the open design allows art to be showcased even when the gallery is closed. This is t... More

Located on the busy 2nd Street in Belmont Shoes (Long Beach), CA, this shoe store focuses on high-end women's shoes and accessories. The founder gave us this task: "display shoes in a new, modern, chic way...someway that I have never seen before!" We began with creating a simple palette of colors and forms with soft edges and decorative lighting. Ipe wood was integrated into the design as a way to warm up the interiors and bring nature in from the exterior. The exterior facade was completely re-envisioned to announce the new shoe store to the passers-by. Ipe wood was used to create a natural facade and plaster columns help capture the new storefront glazing and new identity of this building built in the 1920's. The entire interior was rec... More