Sierra Bonita is a mixed-use affordable housing development in the City of West Hollywood. A pilot project for the City of West Hollywood’s green building ordinance, Sierra Bonita includes just 29 parking spaces, sited underground. The development has ground-floor commercial space and 42 one-bedroom units reserved for disabled, low-income residents. The developer received more than 2,000 applications for residency; the building was leased through a lottery. Balconies overlook an inner courtyard with bamboo, grasses, and walkways, illuminated by vertical light tubes. Solar-electric panels wrap over the building and hang vertically on the western wall, resembling sculptures. “We didn’t want the building to look like an affordable-housing project,” says architect Patrick Tighe, “We wanted it to have movement and light and strength.” Sierra Bonita’s front facade is clad in aluminum panels laser-cut into abstract forms, giving the building a distinctive presence from the street and offering shading and privacy for residents.
Watch a video of a day in the life of Sierra Bonita Housing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg-1JNnb9sg
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