Project Data:

Completion Date:     12/1/2017

Square Footage:      69696

Building Use:           Affordable Housing

Project Description:

Zinnia Apartments is the first affordable family housing community to be completed in Signal Hill since 2007 and consists of seventy-two units. Accounting for all forms of mobility, the 1.6-acre property provides eighty-two residential parking spaces, forty-two bicycle spaces, and is located within walking distance of retail, parks, civic amenities such as City Hall and the library, transit, employment opportunities, and schools, contributing to a healthy, accessible, and sustainable lifestyle for residents.

Designed at a neighborhood village scale, the development is conceived as three distinct buildings that vary in height on this heavily sloped site, with the tallest structure at the lowest location to minimize blocking adjacent views. Parking is concealed from the public realm, tucked under, or located at the lowest elevation of the parcel, along the southern edge. The site is in a transitional zone with residential located to the north and east and commercial to the south and west. The building forms and roofs are inspired by older manufacturing buildings with saw-tooth clearstories. Most of the structures are clad in siding and brick, evocative of the industrial and agricultural buildings nearby.

Due to the low-scale character of the neighborhood, much of the taller massing is set back from the street and screened with landscape and the one-story iconic community room to minimize their impact on the public. Over one-quarter of the property is dedicated to usable open space which includes a central green for flexible activities, a patio adjacent to the community room for BBQs and parties, tranquility space, a children’s tot lot, a dog park, and a communal garden dedicated to kids. Residential patios, porches, and balconies serve to activate these open areas and the street beyond.

Firm Name:              Studio One Eleven

Completion Date:     12/1/2017

Square Footage:      69696

Building Use:           Affordable Housing

Location:                 1496 E Hill St, Signal Hill, CA 90755

Project Description:
To humanize the project’s social impact, the architects met with residents to hear about the positive impact that living at Zinnia had on their lives. Consistent comments included the high-quality finishes, ample open spaces, the ability to easily watch their children play outside, and how the quality of the building design made them feel like they did not live in an “affordable” institutional housing complex. This has resulted in increased confidence which allowed parents to find success in employment, raising their children, and volunteering within the neighborhood.

The site dedicated over one quarter of the area to open space, considerably above the minimum requirement to provide a variety of usable spaces including a central green for flexible activities, a patio adjacent to the community room for BBQs and parties, tranquility space, a children’s tot lot, a dog park, and a children’s communal garden. The units vary from two-story townhomes to one, two, and 3-bedroom flats. The townhomes have interlocking floor plans without public corridors to maximize building efficiency resulting in the project having more open space than other more conventional developments.

Zinnia exemplifies a high-quality LEED Gold-certified affordable development and has been embraced by the neighborhood. It recently won the City of Signal Hill Beautification Award, a testament to the community’s support of the project. The community building provides offices for resident supportive services, a computer lab, a conference room, communal kitchen, and a police substation for patrolling officers to rest and write up reports.

Design Architect:
Studio One Eleven

Associate Architect or Firm:

Landscape Architect:
Studio One Eleven

Owner / Developer:
Meta Housing Corporation

Engineer:
Civil Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers

Geotechnical Engineer: Southern California Soil & Testing, Inc.

Structural Engineer: MHP Structural Engineers

MEP Engineers: Sy Lee Associates, Inc.

General Contractor:
KKG, Inc.

Consultant:
Lighting: Lite Rite

Acoustic: P.A Penardi & Associates

LEED Consultant: VCA Green

Code Consultant: Churchill Engineering

Interior Designer: Citron Design Group

Photographer:
Carlos R. Hernandez