Precedent Study

MIRADOR

Location: Sanchinarro, Madrid Spain 

Architects: MVDRV

Mirador is a collection of mini neighborhoods vertically stacked and it also creates a semi public space for the residents. So instead of producing the same apt for all floors they created apt blocks which they called neighborhoods.

When designing the building the architects were trying to think of ways to break away from the typical building layout of the neighborhood. They designed the building in a vertical manner therefore they had more space for a plaza around the building. With this design they still maintained the interior courtyard but instead of being on the ground it is 131 ft above ground. By creating this space the designers created views to the surrounding mountains and the city of Madrid. 

114 Public Housing Units

Location: Sabadell, Barcelona Spain 

Architects: Sauquet Arquitectes I Associats

The project’s plot was at the edge of the town of Sabadell where there is a park. They made the building face in the direction of the park and that also gave the terraces sun exposure.

When designing the building they thought of activities the elderly would enjoy throughout the day. Some of the things that the architects knew the residents would enjoy was taking care of plants in pots and how those plants would eventually drape over the balconies. Also they saw the residents seating out on the sun and talking to their neighbors from one balcony to the other.

15 Renwick

Location: Manhattan, NY Architects: ODA New York

One of the challenges ODA was facing when designing the building were the strict setback rules for the area. ODA saw this as an opportunity so they designed the building in such a way that they were able to provide more green space for the residents.

ODA achieved a lot with the site given and were able to create the most amount of green space possible. Something else they were able to do when designing the building was making three separate townhouses in the ground floor with terraces.

This project was the first in a long line of projects for ODA that would break away from the “pyramid” style buildings due to setbacks.