[ COMMUNITY HOUSING ]

2013

River Road Community Housing creates a comfortable and welcoming environment for its residents. The community is built upon five main concepts: to create a strong sense of community, encourage bicycle and pedestrian activity, create opportunities for informal interactions, connect to nature, and create a place for all ages.

 

The site is subdivided into three clusters, each with their own community garden and outdoor kitchen meeting space.

 

The grouped car and bicycle parking encourages chance encounters and interactions and provides a strong sense of community within the development. A pedestrian and bicycle path stretches through the site, growing as it nears the public bike path. This guides residents towards the river and encourages biking and walking.

To achieve a higher density housing, without making the structures feel obtrusive or out of the neighbourhood context, each building contains three units: a two story townhouse, a flat, and a townhouse over the flat.

 

Spaces between the buildings are bridged with a wooden trellis to provide residents with a semi- enclosed area to informally meet and enjoy the outdoors.

 

Buildings line the main bike and pedestrian path and encourage informal interactions between residents.

Native vegetation becomes a focus of the development and helps to reestablish the native prairie which is a vital environment for animals along the river. This also helps to maintain runoff and eliminate the need for the usual maintenance of the traditional suburban lawn.

 

Native plants and permeable pavers are used to help control water, while excess rainwater is guided off the paths into bioswales and water tanks.

 

Levels of privacy are established through paving and the surrounding landscape features.