Still striving for inclusivity and sustainability, the current housing stock of Los Angeles is not yet in line with the demographic diversity[1] of the city nor its ambitions. Hi-Lo Hi-Lo was designed to meet this challenge. It is a project that achieves (Hi)gh density while maintaining the feeling of (Lo)w density, and (Hi)gh performance while maintaining a (Lo)w-carbon and energy footprint.

We sought to design an urban village, rather than a housing complex. Buildings are independent, non-repetitive, and small in scale—ranging from 24 to 32 feet in height. Private and public greenery percolate throughout the site. Both privacy and communality are supported throughout.

The sizes of the ten dwelling units are based upon the household compositions of contemporary LA.[2] They include:

•  2 studios

•  2 one-bedrooms

•  2 two-bedrooms

•  2 three-bedrooms

•  2 four-bedrooms

The largest is 1440 square feet, and the smallest, 340 square feet.[3]

The population of LA’s future however will be different than that of today. In sight of this, we shaped the placement of units, as well as their design, to support the future expansion or contraction of household sizes.[4]

Access to private/public greenery plays a key role in the feeling of low-density. Each unit has their own private green space. The courtyard is designed as a biodiverse communal hub. Small community garden-plots are placed adjacent to the alley condition, in order to support the emergence of a green corridor through multiple blocks, by encouraging similar dynamics in neighboring lots and communities.

The project is placed under the stewardship of a community land trust (CLT), with three binding obligations—(1) with changes of tenancy, the project must maintain a household composition reflective of the city’s household composition; (2) the maximum rent or mortgage cost[5] must not exceed 30% of median monthly household income; and (3) the biodiversity of the communal courtyard must maintained and strengthened.

The corner of the block is held by a co-working space. This programmatic component, in addition to being an income generator for the CLT, supports emerging professionals and micro-business owners from the community. After hours, this becomes a small hub for the locality, with neighborhood meetings and events taking place.

Each unit is equipped with a photovoltaic array large enough to provide sufficient electricity for the entire household. Shading systems on the southern and western facades, comprised of overhangs and screens, are designed to block direct light from March-September. Hybrid solar/night-flush chimneys further support passive cooling strategies in all the units. Haybale insulation and blown-in cellulose are used to achieve high R-values with low carbon footprints. High-efficiency fixtures, heat pumps, lights, and windows maximize performance and minimize impact. Low-VOC finishes minimize impact upon IEQ. Landscape design maximizes surface porosity, countering the heat-island effect and encouraging the expansion of the natural environment. Passive localized stormwater and greywater management infrastructure is integrated within the landscape design, allowing for localized water remediation and slow percolation.

In the listening sessions, the future story of Los Angeles that we were given, was of a city of inclusivity, flexibility, and sustainability. A city with space to breathe and space to come together. With space to live and space to work. Where the community’s voice was not only heard but given foundations to grow upon. Which reacted thoughtfully to the environment. Which performed with great efficiency, yet consumed little. And supported the diversities of the natural world, as well as the diversities of the city’s ever-changing citizenry.

Hi-Lo Hi-Lo is an urban prototype for LA anchored around these ambitions.

[1] See Los Angeles Department of City Planning, “Housing Needs Assessment,” in Housing Element 2013-2021 (2013). There are too few studios and one-bedrooms, too many two-bedrooms, an adequate number of three-bedrooms, and too few four-plus-bedrooms in the current LA fair-market-rate housing stock. Studios and one-bedrooms constitute 34.10% of the occupied housing stock, whereas 41.80% of LA households need these units. Two-bedrooms constitute 31.5%, whereas 21.10% of households need these units. Three-bedrooms constitute 22.60%, in line with the 20.80% of households that need them; and four-plus-bedroom units constitute 11.80%, whereas 16.20% of households need these units. Hi-Lo Hi-Lo’s achieves a 40-20-20-20 split amidst units, from studios/one-bedrooms up to four-bedrooms.

[2] Ibid

[3] Calculated as Gross Internal Area

[4] For further information, please consult p2-3+5, as well as the Appendix of this proposal.

[5] The controlling of mortgage cost would entail a capping of a unit’s selling price, calculated in accordance with household median income.