Housing Done Right: Kapuso at the Upper Yard

Building tour: Kapuso at the Upper Yard provides new housing and enhances the rich identity of its neighborhood as a landmark at a busy transit gateway. The building incorporates safe, stable affordable housing for low income families earning up to 60% AMI, with a goal of 40% existing neighborhood residents.
Highlights:
• Discuss the opportunities inherent in affordable housing developments adjacent to public open spaces. What are the long-term possibilities for this relationship in future city-scale planning? Review the opportunities that emerged in working on the public plaza.
• Design team will share insights on the importance of community outreach in the layout of the ground floor programming and how the building interacts with the transit plaza.
• Discuss the crucial inside-outside connections between the protected resident courtyard, on-site services offices, childcare, and the main resident community room.
• View art installations and discuss how the integration of art impacted interior and landscape design considerations.

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how place-based, responsive affordable housing design supports a holistic strategy for community wellness and positive local impact

2. Identify the benefits of co-design with communities to facilitate housing density and responsive design

3. Describe opportunities to advance equity and community voices throughout the affordable housing project development cycle

4. Apply practical and cost-effective strategies for ecological performance, including both embodied and operational carbon reduction.

Host or Publisher Center for A+D