Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
Isla Intersections Supportive Housing
The sprawling roads and freeways of Los Angeles come with a tangle of ramps and exchanges — and a glut of awkward (and often polluted) leftover sites that are difficult to develop. A case in point: the liminal triangular plot just off the busy intersection of the 105 and 110 interstates. It’s an unlikely setting for a verdant and welcoming affordable housing complex, yet Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects and developer Holos Communities have pulled off exactly that.
Organized as a procession of 16 interconnected volumes that share an intimate inner courtyard, Isla Intersections Supportive Housing introduces 53 new permanent supportive units (as well as a property manager’s suite) to a constrained 1,840-square-metre lot. While the staggered configuration breaks down the project’s scale to introduce porosity through the site, the compact forms were also shaped by their unexpected building blocks: shipping containers. Stacked and welded on an accelerated schedule (which reduced construction time from 45 months to just 30), the modules accommodate 45-square-metre one-bedroom residences with open, efficient and accessible floor plans.
The simple arrays of containers create a surprisingly fine-grained urban expression. Varying in height and orientation, the 16 volumes are artfully linked by elevated stairs and walkways, which weave through the buildings and open onto tranquil rooftop gardens that accommodate small-scale urban farming. At street level, the greenery continues as the whole of the site is framed by a sinuous interplay of hardscaping and climate-adaptive plantings chosen for their air-purifying qualities.
The programming goes beyond housing: It incorporates a ground-floor incubator and job training space, an administrative office, and a shared laundry facility that doubles as a social hub. Even on an awkwardly shaped, tight lot hemmed in by thoroughfares, a feeling of generosity and openness permeates throughout the tranquil yet convivial complex.
Team: Lorcan O’Herlihy, Abel Garcia, Ian Dickenson, Yuval Borochov, Huizhen Ng, Kathryn Sonnabend, Chris Torres
The project introduces 53 new permanent supportive units to a constrained 1,840-square-metre lot.
