Kennedy Homes is a LEED Gold certified, 132 unit affordable multi-family housing community located at the gateway to the City of Fort Lauderdale and the historic Sailboat Bend neighborhood. The project addresses the shortage of affordable housing in the city of Fort Lauderdale. It includes one, two, and three bedroom units for seniors and families, community facilities and site amenities, including a customized visual wayfinding system based on historical site narratives, and a curated Kennedy Homes art collection established by Margi Glavovic Nothard. The goals of the project were to create a place that was sustainable, community-oriented, affordable, pedestrian friendly, transit-oriented, while also meeting the needs of existing residents and the long-term goals of the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale. GLAVOVIC STUDIO carefully considered the local climate, the architecture and culture of South Florida, existing modular construction systems, client program, and the complexities of local planning and zoning requirements. Budget and site constraints were innovatively resolved by the studio with a mix of conventional and modular construction components and repetitive design elements. In terms of the overall site, the goal was to develop it as an undulating park like green space within a series of urban edges, each linked to distinct portion of the neighborhood or corridor. Along the site’s primary urban frontage, Broward Boulevard, housing units were designed with numerous balconies and a fine-grained pattern to create a scale transition into the historic neighborhood from east to west. This also occurs along the site’s entry corridors, 9th Avenue and 11th Avenue, from north to south, creating links and connections into Sailboat Bend. Within this multi-family landscaped community, courtyards, single-loaded corridors, overhangs, masonry construction, awnings and orientations carefully capture southeast-northwest breezes. In addition to including over 400 native new and existing trees, inclusion of secure courtyards, play areas, and plazas throughout the site doubles the existing tree canopy creating shade and refuge for the residential community. Photography by Robin Hill.