To cope with the limited space to accomodate people’s residential issue which grows years by years, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) has completed Formosa 1140, a new eleven-unit housing project in West Hollywood, California. At the heart of West Hollywood, the residential housing project emphasizes the central importance of shared open space for the residents and the community.
Red is dominating the facade which made from metal panels which provide shada for the windows and separate the circulation of residents from the public domain. The building approximately occupies two third of the entire site which another one third part (4,600 square feet) is used to accomodate a park. Each apartment has a view over the park and makes out of cross ventilation.
Units are organizedd linearly as a result of shifting the common open space to the exterior and pushing the building to one side. This would allows ‘park frontage’ and cross-ventilation for every unit. External circulation is used as a buffer between public and private realms and articulated through layers of perforated metal and small openings.
The careful placement of outer skin panels and inner skin fenestration creates a choreographed effect, both revealing and concealing, while achieving a unique expression of form and materials. The exterior skin also keeps west facing units cooler by acting as a screen and shading device.
The provision of this park space resulted in a series of negotiations between Habitat Group Los Angeles, LLC (Developer), LOHA (Architect) and the City from which a unique, more fluid, model of community planning and development emerged to the benefit of all parties involved. The outcome of these negotiations is the leasing of the park to the City of West Hollywood, to develop as part of a network of pocket parks throughout the City. This effort also helped Habitat Group Los Angeles take advantage of certain incentives and zoning concessions for the proposed building.
Via. Photography by Lawrence Anderson.
