Multifamily housing, also known as multiple dwelling units or MDU, refers to the sub-category of housing that consists of several dwelling units within the same structure or in a complex. These multiple units may either be stacked atop each other or placed adjacent to one another.
The most common type of multifamily housing is an apartment building, however other types include condominium, townhouse, duplex, triplex and quadruplex, which may not necessarily be rental housing.
Here is a list of 15 multi-family housing projects that everyone should know about:
1. Pierhouse | Multifamily Housing
Situated in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Pierhouse acts as an extension of the park with green terraces and varied pathways on the west façade, cascading towards it. The east façade is characteristic of the surrounding urban fabric and has pedestrian pathways that provide direct public access to the park.
Thus, instead of becoming a barrier, the design embraces the surrounding landscape and becomes a link between the street and the open space.
2. Wind Tower
The idea of a traditional mid-eastern courtyard is explored vertically, where different volumes extrude out organically from a central space. In turn, borrowing light and life into it thus dramatically affecting the interior spaces.
3. Sprzeczna 4 | Multifamily Housing
Built as one of the initiatives to restore the Praga district, Sprzeczna 4, epitomizes prefabrication, a typology that was once a typical element of Polish landscapes until it was replaced by conventional building techniques. The red façade with angled balconies is an attempt at harmonizing with the surrounding geometry of streets and symbolizes the ageing of building materials.
4. Powerhouse
Located in a gentrifying neighbourhood in Philadelphia, the massing for the project is done in such a way that it promotes diversity with its provision of varied types of units while addressing the scale and street life of the surroundings.
5. MLK Plaza | Multifamily Housing
Planned to provide an inclusive living environment, The MLK Plaza redefines affordable housing in the industrial area of southern Bronx with the abundant use of shared spaces and amenities to reflect upon the needs and health of the community.
6. Jefferson Park Apartments
Architects: Abacus Architects + Planners
Built as a replacement to the former public housing development, Jefferson Park apartments, knits the neighbourhood together by adding community spaces like landscaped courtyards, walkways, yards lined across the extension of the local street, Rindge Avenue, thus, meticulously defining the transition from private to public spaces.
7. Via 57 West
Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group
Designed as an amalgamation of the European Perimeter block and Manhattan skyscraper, the design has the merits of both, the intimacy and community life of the former as well the height and airiness of the latter. Thus, the improbable coalescence of the two is a paradigm of a new typology that celebrates high density along with green open spaces.
8. Cherokee Lofts
A reflection of the cultural and environmental context of the district, the building features a dynamic perforated metal façade which acts as both a climate-responsive element as well as a privacy screen, thus enhancing the functionality as well the form of the building.
9. XS House
Revitalizing an extremely narrow, unused site, XS house is a seven-storey residential complex that makes most of the site with the use of mezzanines, bays and double levelled units while maintaining a single-core stairwell layout. The staircase provides access to the upper units while the lower units are accessed directly from the street thus encouraging pedestrian activity along the busy road.
10. Via Verde | Multifamily Housing
Architects: Dattner Architects, Grimshaw
Situated on a reclaimed brownfield site in the Southern Bronx, Via Verde celebrates sustainable, healthy and community living. A multi-purpose garden serves as a unifying element of the design, which starts at the ground level but extends upwards as a series of terraces, ultimately towards the community roof garden.
11. Hunter’s view housing blocks 5&6
Built around a central courtyard, the design comprises two L-shaped buildings per block to gain maximum street frontage. Each building consists of stacked multi-level units which resemble individual houses with a private or shared entrance, overlooking the courtyard, thus retaining a spatial and visual connection throughout.
12. Lofts at Mayo Park
Located in a single-family residential neighbourhood on the banks of Zumbro river, and adjacent to Mayo Memorial park, the project integrates the various aspects of human scale and context into a homogenous apartment building. The planning and landscaping of the building are done in a way that it acts as an extension of the adjacent park as well the riverfront thus acknowledging social life in these areas.
13. Bill Sorro Community
Reviving an abandoned corner in the historic district of San Francisco, the design of the building evokes the diverse use of spaces and reflects upon the character of the neighbourhood while retaining affordability.
14. Line Lofts
Located in one of the most active development corridors of LA, the design celebrates multilevel communication by interspersing the vertical circulation areas across the plan thus eliminating the sense of rigidity and repetition in the apartment building.
15. Terrace 459 | Multifamily Housing
A mixed-income development, Terrace 459 is a sublime example of how precast concrete can be efficiently used to provide affordable and economical homes to a diverse set of people thus celebrating the social and cultural demographics of the place.
