9298 Alden Dr. affordable housing

82 units of affordable housing just off Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. By the Beverly Hills Dog Park at Alden Dr. and Foothill Rd. All 1-bedroom units. Roofdecks on the 4th and 5th floors. 4,400 SF of support and community space on the grade-level. 39 spaces of on-grade parking. 4 stories Type 5 construction over 1 grade level Type 1A story. Double-loaded corridor scheme with inner coutyard open to the sky.

The building is designed to be a visual extension of the park and to continue the Beverly Hills tradition of elegant low-scaled buildings that are quiet and well-mannered additions to the neighborhood. The east edge of the structure is 51 ft in height, which closely matches the adjacent office complex across a 60 ft wide alley access drive. From there, the proposal steps down to 44 feet and 3 residential floors as it faces the green open space.

The roof of the third residential floor is a community open space that is heavily landscaped to create a functional connection to the city Park. Residents may have their own outdoor social and recreational activities while overlooking and, at times, participating in the neighborhood activities of the park.

The housing facility will have deep-set windows, each recess framed in bright colors, and the stepping balconies will be edged in planters of hanging vines to create the impression of a green-screen garden edge to the City park.

Instead of being separate and apart, the building symbolically and actually will compliment and unify the larger city block, expanding the potential for mutually beneficial programs. There will also be the opportunity for the community to use the building’s indoor gathering spaces for Beverly Hills’ wide array of public programming.

Scope of architectural services included Schematic Design for proposal in response to RFP only.