This article originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of inGen Magazine.
Architecture is more than simply the design and building of structures for habitation and commerce. In dense urban environments, architecture becomes the environment. From the corner store to the new apartment building, the urban dweller cannot escape from the reality of the surrounding city. For the working poor, the architecture of their surroundings is often a burden, and sometimes, even a threat. For those whose only means of survival are the housing projects, their lives are often defined by the stark nature of their apartments and the crime outside their door.
The infamous Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago
This has been the reality for many people in the last half-century since the beginning of the “projects” under the Housing Act of 1937. This law established the first Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in large cities around the United States. These PHAs built housing projects to house the working poor and the unemployed. But these massive apartment units became centralized locations for gangs and the drug trade. Over time, the “PJ’s” became synonymous with crime and gang warfare.
With the Housing Acts of 1965 and 1968, the move towards privatization of low-income housing began with the subsidization of developers and the guarantee of rent to property managers on behalf of low-income residents. The Section 8 Rental Assistance Program of 1974 further progressed privatization by giving vouchers to low-income families who could then use them in acquiring a residence of their choice. It also gave greater control to local governments in the development and administration of affordable housing. One of the goals in privatizing affordable housing was to allow the private sector the opportunity to solve local housing issues.
San Francisco has the second most dense population in the United States behind New York City. With just over 800,000 people in just under 49 square miles, housing is at a premium. Even the barest of accommodations can be out of reach for many working-class families. In response to the need for affordable housing, the City has created agencies like the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the SF Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH). These agencies are working in conjunction with private architecture firms and developers to tackle the issue of creating low-income housing at a reasonable cost.
SOMA Studios and Family Apartments
San Francisco architect David Baker has been at the forefront of this affordable housing movement in the Bay Area. Baker’s firm, David Baker and Partners, has the unique ability of creating low-cost structures that combine sustainable building techniques with a high aesthetic value. Baker’s approach to urban architecture is based on the principle of “better living through density.” Data has shown the carbon footprint of an urban area is inversely proportional to its population: the higher the population per square mile, the lower the amount of energy used. One reason is people can walk or take public transportation to their destination instead of using a car; another reason is more people share the same resources, such as water and sewage systems.
With this principle in mind, Baker seeks to create better urban environments for everyone, not just those who can afford it. Working closely with the MOH, Bakers’ firm has created some of the most innovative and cost-conscious affordable housing projects in San Francisco. One such project is SOMA Studios and Family Apartments at the corner of 8th and Howard streets. The colorful geometry of this five-story building houses an eclectic mix of the young and old, from artists to immigrants. The bottom floor houses an organic food market. This combination of commercial and residential space is the key to building neighborhoods with lower carbon footprints by minimizing the distance between sale and consumption. SOMA Studios, built in 2003, was chosen as part of the SF Chronicle’s Top 10 list for architecture of the past decade.
Another project is the Folsom + Dore Supportive Apartments located on Folsom Street and Dore Alley. This innovative multi-family building serves those with special needs, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the chronically homeless. It was the first new building in Northern California to receive a LEED Silver Certification for its use of green principles in its design. The use of plants and open space in this structure create a distinctive sense of place, and this, in turn, creates a sense of pride and ownership in those who live there. When people care about where they live, they become involved with the maintenance and upkeep of their residence.
Folsom & Dore apartments
Baker achieves sustainability in his projects, he says, by “minimizing energy expended in the manufacturing process.” This includes choosing materials that combine low-cost functionality with high-impact aesthetics – integral color concrete, for instance. The use of local artisans and designers allows for the variety and individuality necessary to create the personality of a vibrant community. This in turn puts money back into the local economy as well as minimizes the energy consumed to get materials from where they are fabricated to the actual project site.
Across San Francisco, Baker’s designs have brought color and playfulness to areas once smothered by decrepit tenements and crack hotels. Instead of gentrifying the neighborhood into high-market condominiums for the wealthy, though, these projects are serving the people who call these neighborhoods home. Compare SOMA Studios with the Soviet Bloc-style architecture of traditional housing projects and it’s clear to see why David Baker is part of a revolution in transforming our urban landscape.
