Peter Calthorpe
Sacramento Housing, 1979
Sacramento, California

Sommerset Parkside, a 106-unit project is part of a development plan for Sacramento which has as its explicit goals the creation of a mixed-use community with an emphasis on energy conservation and the pedestrian.

The massing offers three scales to the city: a three and one-half story building relating to the denser development to the north, a two-story townhouse "mews" reconstituting the traditional alley, and a row of detached apartment buildings reflecting the Victorian houses on the south side.

Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg
Ocean Park 12 at Fifth Street, 1987
Santa Monica, California

Ocean Park 12 is the twelve-unit, rental component of a city-sponsored, affordable housing program for infill sites in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica. Each of the sites selected had to accommodate six housing units of varying plan types.

A generous, second-level deck flanked by two simple volumes provides the most compelling configuration for accommodating six apartments on the small corner lot. A large amount of outdoor space was created without sacrificing above-grade-parking.

Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg
Ocean Park 12 at Sixth Street, 1987
Santa Monica, California

The Sixth Street apartments are located in a pair of two simple buildings. The house on the front contains two-bedroom and one-bedroom units. Each unit is cross-ventilated, has views of the ocean and private balconies. The "curved roof house" at the rear contains one three-bedroom and one four-bedroom townhouse.

The two buildings are sited on either side of a communal courtyard. The courtyard was intended to be a safe place for children to play and to provide a sense of security and community to the tenants.