Merritt Crossing

Text description provided by architect.

The building was arranged along the long edge (Sixth Street) of the corner site in order to reserve a twenty foot sideyard for a sunny landscaped courtyard and garden. This configuration also allows the courtyard to be directly linked to the ground floor community room, kitchen, laundry and entrance on Oak Street.

The courtyard garden is designed as a series of outdoor spaces from community to more private activities.

The footprint of the required on-site parking is reduced by the use of stacked parking lifts. The parking garage is wrapped with green screen panels that will create a living wall along the sidewalk and courtyard.

In addition, planting beds are tucked under the street side of the building and double function as storm water retention tanks. By reducing the visual footprint of the ground floor level, the upper floors appear to float above which lightens their impact.

The upper floors are organized into two parallel bands of apartments separated by a wide hallway combined with the fire stairs and elevators.

Many of the apartments are provided with balconies that are recessed into the building mass.

On the south (red) façade, the balconies are part of a recessed zone that mitigates the visual and noise impact of the adjacent freeway at the same time providing solar shading.

The building’s color scheme accentuates the separation between the two bars of apartments and between the outer building “skin” and the internal balconies and voids.