Accedi
Utenti registrati
The concept for 26 Point 2 Apartments emerged from site analysis and programmatic needs. The form of the building responds to its surroundings to connect the residential neighborhood to the east with the commercial corridor to the north. The design balances community connection and individual privacy using the glazed street level as a permeable boundary, connecting the residents to their surrounding neighborhood. The amenities and courtyard at ground level, allow natural light into circulation areas, and provide space for residents to gather and connect. Courtyard organization is intended to foster a sense of community among a vulnerable tenant population.
Contribuisci con il tuo voto assegnando un wish a questo progetto.
Registrati o
Accedi per esprimere il tuo voto
The project straddles Pacific Coast Highway to the north – a busy commercial strip – and a residential neighborhood with modest single family homes to the south.The massing of the building bridges this shift in scale and character. Along the eastern residential street, the facade is articulated into a series of house-shaped forms that create a human-scale presence complementing the neighboring structures. The angled roof and pitched motifs relate to the gabled roofs of nearby houses. The design negotiates the project's position between a commercial zone and a residential neighborhood through sculptural massing that connects to the differing contexts on either side, allowing 26 Point 2 Apartments to integrate with and transition between the surrounding urban landscape.
The project earned LEED Gold certification by employing a range of sustainability strategies. A limited and efficient material palette including wood framing and a stucco facade reduces embodied carbon compared to similar brick, steel or aluminum systems. High efficiency mini-split systems, solar hot water, high albedo roofing, open air circulation, operable windows, and occupant lighting controls help to reduce overall energy use. On site water treatment tanks, extensive permeable paving, and native drought-tolerant landscaping conserve and protect water resources. The project also offers socially sustainable high-density housing, by providing supportive living for the formerly unhoused, with on-site services, staff offices, and amenities to foster a sense of community.
The project provides permanent supportive housing tailored specifically to a formerly homeless population. The 76 studio apartments, along with on-site supportive services and staff offices, aim to address the profound isolation and challenges faced by this vulnerable group. The design prioritizes a strong sense of community for residents through shared amenities and gathering spaces. The building's massing, articulation, and material expression mediate between the differing scales and urban character of the adjacent commercial corridor and residential neighborhood. Design elements like the house-shaped forms, angled roof lines, and color accents help integrate the project with its surroundings. True to the California climate, the architecture celebrates an indoor-outdoor lifestyle through the central courtyard, exterior corridors, glazed community spaces connecting to the outdoors, and open-air patios. A LEED Gold project, 26 Point 2 employs a variety of eco-conscious strategies like energy/water efficiency measures, sustainable materials, passive design elements, and socially supportive programs. 26 Point 2's defining strengths lie in its tailored supportive housing for the formerly homeless, community-fostering amenities, contextual sensitivity, celebration of California living, progressive design aesthetic, and holistic sustainable approach.
“We wanted a design-forward building—one that wouldn’t hide itself, but would complement the neighborhood and stand with pride in the community,” says Peter Enzminger, development director of Long Beach–based Excelerate Housing Group, the affordable-housing developer that commissioned 26 Point 2 as its inaugural project.
Founded in 1995, Michael Maltzan Architecture is a Los Angeles architecture and urban design practice of approximately 25 people, led by Michael Maltzan. Our studio is focused on cross-discipline partnerships to integrate social and environmental sustainability, construction innovation, and architectural form. The practice has been recognized with five Progressive Architecture awards, 47 citations from the AIA, and the Rudy Bruner Foundation’s Gold Medal for Urban Excellence. Our work has been featured in publications and museum exhibitions worldwide, including monographic exhibitions at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, the Harvard GSD, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Carnegie Museum’s Heinz Architectural Center. Our work was selected for the 2006, 2018, and 2020 La Biennale di Venezia and is included in the permanent collections of Carnegie Museum of Art, MoMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
