South Lowell Apartments in DENVER, COLORADO by Workshop 8 Architecture

Article source: Workshop 8 Architecture 

The S. Lowell Apartments owned by the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) was an aging family site that had reached its useful life span. It had leaking pipes causing mold, structural damage and inefficient heat for both the units and domestic hot water. As with any prudent developer, the goal was to use the site for its highest and best use at the most affordable cost. Working together, WORKSHOP8 and Pinkard Construction helped the DHA find a way to obtain 96 units using the existing units and adding 28 additional units, saving them $5M over the estimated cost of tearing the existing structure down and rebuilding 96 new units, the maximum allowed based on City parking requirements.

Image Courtesy © WORKSHOP8

• Architects: Workshop 8 Architecture
• Project: South Lowell Apartments
• Location: DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A
• Photography: Daniel O’Connor, Ed LaCasse
• Software used: SketchUp, Vectorworks and ArchiCAD.
• Pinkard Construction: Jessica Nichols
• Denver Housing Authority: Ryan Tobin
• Owner: Denver Housing Authority
• Developer: South Lowell Redevelopment LLLP
• Builder: Pinkard Construction
• Energy modeler & sustainability consultant: Group14
• Soils engineer: Terradyne D/MBE
• Civil engineer: Latitude 39 WBE
• Landscape architect: three sixty design WBE
• MEP engineer: Gehring & Associates M/WBE
• Structural engineer: LT Engineering WBE
• Abatement contractor: Engineered Demolition
• Units: 68 remodeled units + 28 new units + community space (96 total)
• Lot size: 3 acres
• Project cost: $10,833,893 total construction cost $19,148,231 total project cost including capitalized reserves and related soft costs

Image Courtesy © WORKSHOP8

This affordable housing project rehabilitation and redevelopment includes the renovation of a 1970sera, 64,500 SF 68-unit apartment building and the construction of a new 28-unit, 27,400 SF fourstory, energy efficient building within the existing courtyard. The existing 68-units received major interior and exterior renovations. The budget on this project was maintained through a close collaboration between WORKSHOP8, DHA and Pinkard Construction.

The integrated design approach helped the team create a “building within a building” which allowed the team to build the site out to maximum density while screening the new four-story structure behind the existing two story building. This approach had many valuable outcomes including fitting in with the scale of the neighborhood and effectively making the new 4-story structure “disappear”.

Image Courtesy © Daniel O’Connor

Image Courtesy © Daniel O’Connor

Image Courtesy © Ed LaCasse

Tags: Colorado, Denver, U.S.A.

Categories: Apartments, ArchiCAD, SketchUp, Vectorworks

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