High-rise office building with sustainable design features

Project

Project Detail's

housing for the elderly

High-rise office building with sustainable design features

Project

Project Detail's

housing for the elderly

ABOUT THE PROJECT

A senior housing complex at 6029 College Ave, Oakland. The project focused on maximizing unit count while building an environment that residents actually want to live in one, where color, community space, and a sense of fun were treated as design priorities, not afterthoughts

SQUARE FEET

40,587

DESIGN

Senior Community Housing

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE

Postmodern Architecture

LoCATION

ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE

6029 College Ave, oakland ca

LOCATION

The site is a former gas station at the intersection of College Ave and Telegraph Ave in Oakland, sitting between two major streets. Residential neighborhoods border the site to the west, north, and far east, with commercial uses lining the streets around it. Caught between the busy commercial strip and the quieter neighborhoods behind it. That in-between position is what drove the project toward creating a community hub for the elderly.

THE INFLUENCE

The design drew from spaces that feel genuinely enjoyable to be in. Color was the primary tool that I used. The palette was chosen specifically for its ability to create happiness, making the building somewhere residents actually want to be.

THE FORM

The form follows the site. The footprint uses every available square foot, with each level stepping outward to maximize the number of units. Perforated brick shows up in two places: at the gaming hall, where it filters light and blurs the line between inside and outside, and at the tip of the building. A more secluded corner that looks out toward the mountains.

THE FORM

The form follows the site. The footprint uses every available square foot, with each level stepping outward to maximize the number of units. Perforated brick shows up in two places: at the gaming hall, where it filters light and blurs the line between inside and outside, and at the tip of the building. A more secluded corner that looks out toward the mountains.

FINAL ENVIRONMENT

The building wraps the site in color. Each floor stepping outward, the facade broken up by panels of warm and cool tones that give the building its different characteristic from the street. At the corner facing the commercial strip, the building opens up into the main communal space. A tiered balcony that steps inward with each floor, letting residents look down into the activity below. At street level the corner becomes a gathering point seating, food, kids on the grass. The most public part of the building, designed to pull people in from the street.

Floors / Section

Floor one holds the lobby and a small restaurant at the corner . Floor two introduces the first residential units alongside shared amenities: an art and painting area at the center, a gaming hall on the right, and an open balcony. The secluded corner at the far left steps back with its own balcony, looking outward. Floors three through five repeat the same layout, stacking the units upward as the building steps out over the floors below.

Floor one holds the lobby and a small restaurant at the corner . Floor two introduces the first residential units alongside shared amenities: an art and painting area at the center, a gaming hall on the right, and an open balcony. The secluded corner at the far left steps back with its own balcony, looking outward. Floors three through five repeat the same layout, stacking the units upward as the building steps out over the floors below.