The 90 unit mixed-use development sits on the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Colorado Avenue between two transit stops on the newly expanded Metro Expo Line, establishing a gateway into the City of Santa Monica. This is the first phase of a master plan development of mixed-use buildings that includes four contiguous sites along Lincoln Boulevard.
The intersection of two busy streets and the Expo Line generated the large public plaza with a 3-story portion of the residential building. By placing neighborhood-serving uses adjacent to this plaza, the street level pedestrian experience it serves is a shared public space.
The Metro Expo line influenced the linearity of the Colorado façade. Spanning the alley with pedestrian walkways and lounges, the building extends itself, stepping down and introducing a large roof deck where the height transitions from one zone to the next.
Passive solar design strategies were incorporated in the master planning process to ensure natural light and ventilation in the public courtyard spaces and flow-through ventilation in the apartment units. This was in part accomplished by eliminating double loaded corridors and optimizing single loaded corridors wherever possible.
Located on the roof are solar collectors to produce the necessary electrical requirements for all of the public spaces and heating for the pool.