2016 Directory

38 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .16 | www.aia-wyoming.org The Challenges and Opportunities of Multi-family Housing Design BY STEPHEN DYNIA, FAIA M ulti-family housing is a perpetual challenge met with a variety of strategies; from post war rent control in New York City, to the mega projects of the mid-twentieth century, and just about everything in between. We have gone through eras of centralizing and decentralizing, of density and sprawl. Heavy-handed systems in the former USSR and now in China use housing as a form of collective control, whereas the American objectives focused on the pursuit of individual happiness while contending with the realities of managing post-industrial revolution migrations. The historical examples tend to trend with prevailing urban planning thinking, from prewar garden communities to modernist towers in a park. This new era of housing in cities, as they regain favor as places to work and live, includes everything from single lot prototypes to large projects that explore new relationships with community. And while there is much history to draw from, challenges continue to evolve with the complexi- ties and variables of societies. The architects’ goal of all housing – multi-family and otherwise – should be to create quality living environments. Healthy societies grow fromwithin and start with the conditions of habitation. The first priority in planning housing is location. Cities serve as vital amenities to individual neighborhoods and connect us as a community. And with mass transportation making a comeback, connectivity is broadly addressed. Another critical objective is de- mographic diversity within housing developments and, by extension, within neighborhoods. The intermingling of people in different phases of life and in alternate modes of living adds richness to our daily lives. Economic diversity is also an objective – avoiding the creation of ghettos for singular economic categories helps soften economic castes. Although as a discipline, architec- ture has at times overstepped its boundaries regarding social engineering in the modern era, it is an inevitable component of social change and it is our obligation as architects to inspire communities to move housing development in a positive direction. As designers we have a leadership responsibility to work with developers and municipalities to locate and create housing that achieves these goals. The most effective way of implementing change is through example, so I have included our recently completed Freight Residences project to illustrate the following points: • Effective site planning should connect housing to the broader commu- nity as well as create collective and private amenity spaces within such as private gardens. Environmental considerations such as sun and prevail- ing weather inform a project configuration and enhance livability. • Amenity spaces and programming play a key role in the social envi- ronment of a housing project. These spaces should go beyond just the One Santa Fe in Los Angeles, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc., is a mixed-use development in the newly revitalized downtown Arts District. It is similar to Freight Residences in its proximity to the rail lines and its location in a recently gentrified area. One Santa Fe has become a shopping and dining destination in Los Angeles, with over 20 boutiques and restaurants. The project also includes an onsite grocery, maximizing convenience for its residents.