located in the inner city, this residential project is intended to serve low-income, working families.
it seeks to utilize its architecture as a form of social reform, to control urban quality and urban diversity, and to shape urban places.
the general idea is that social and public residential projects located in the poorer areas of cities should be imaginative, inspirational, grandiose, and that the people inhabiting such dwellings should be provided good, high-quality design buildings. its inspiration is the turn-of-the last-century dutch architecture, specifically the movement referred to as the "amsterdam school".
the "amsterdam school" was born as a consequence of the government housing act established to resolve housing shortage issues and remedy the unhealthy housing conditions of the times.
as consequence to its commitment to contemporary aspects of society, the architecture of this movement is imaginative, plastic, formal. 4Owestnorth shares these notions and, as a result, the same approach to design, proportions, composition and the use of materials and colors. the brick structure is highly sculptural. the medium size units take advantage of balconies and abundant windows for ample natural light. the ground floor is occupied by retail spaces intended to serve the building and the neighborhood. the building also addresses the topic of public art by incorporating elements of the minimalism art movement of the 1960s.