See the Work

Bartlett Hill Manor Courtyard

Community Grounds Prototyping

“LINC Housing, the current owner, has learned throughout its years of developing housing the value of common areas to truly foster the critical element of “community” so needed in our busy lives. Today residents enjoy a new community space, where children play, adults sometimes practice Tai-Chi and resident services programs are regularly held.”

— Noel Toro

Bartlett Hill Manor is a two-building affordable apartment community built in 1989. It serves as home to 65 families in downtown Los Angeles. The original design did not provide for much community space. A few, very small outdoor areas are tucked away from areas of more activity.

With help from the Community Outreach Program from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), and under the leadership of Noel Toro, Rose Fellow and SCI-Arc graduate, a design-build program was launched in the spring of 2005 to redesign the outdoor common areas of the property. Students began the design process by analyzing the existing outdoor spaces and identifying opportunities and constraints. Afterwards, a resident meeting was held to generate a wish list of proposals from the community and to present initial design ideas. Three designs were finally approved by LINC, of which one was built.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, donations from LINC Housing and SCI-Arc, construction began in the summer of 2005. What truly made this project happen was the remarkable volunteer work done by a group of SCI-Arc students after the academic semester had concluded.

Project Summary

Location:
Los Angeles, California
Program Scope
Common courtyard/terrace (3,300 sq ft)
Project Status
Completed, December 2005
Location:
Los Angeles, California
Project Scope
1.06 acres gross site area
New construction
3,300 sq ft gross project area
Program Scope
Common courtyard/terrace (3,300 sq ft)
Cost
23,000Acquisition (land)
5,000Hard (construction)
28,000Soft (all other)
56,000TOTAL
Major Funders
LINC Housing Corporation
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
Project Status
Completed, December 2005

Enterprise Community Partners