San Jose Ave. Townhouses

Burbank, California

Multi-family housing

Undisclosed

4,500 sq. ft., 4 units

This is a 4,500 sq. ft., two-level, 4-unit multi-family housing building in a residential enclave adjacent to downtown Burbank, California. As a response to the standard row house typology, it is designed with a shifted mass that allows for increased green space and private courtyards. The challenge was in designing for a community with demands for higher density while not overwhelming the existing neighborhood nor sacrificing quality spaces both inside and out. The solution is a simple shift of the four blocks in which every other unit is shifted from the plane of the adjacent units. In addition to disrupting the rowhouse mass this creates a private garden and alternating entry for each unit. This also maintains a unified aesthetic to the building and ensures it is appropriate to the scale of the neighborhood. The building, which features 2-bedroom floor plans, floor-to-ceiling windows and board form concrete planter walls, is a hybrid of single family and multi-family housing with quality outdoor space and privacy for all its residents.

Completed March 2021

Brian Wickersham (Principal-in-Charge), Sabina Lira, Aris Keshishian, Marija Volkman

Todd Goodman / LA Light Photo