A crumbling Apartment Complex Becomes a vibrant community.
The debate will probably never cease. Should older buildings be torn down or should they be renovated? Pros and cons exist on both sides of the fence. But too often, we tear down older structures, some well worth saving, because it's just simply easier to build new.
Many people would have looked at what has become The Metropolis, a 300-unit apartment complex in Austin, TX, and called in the bulldozers. In fact, the city had issued a demolition order for the project. But architect Tom Lea, AIA, and the project's developer, Justin Hilton, both of Austin, had a better idea. They took a 15-year-old, crumbling apartment complex that was occupied by squatters and gangs and turned it into a vibrant community.
The Metropolis is surrounded by newer apartment complexes, all featuring the conveniences sought by apartment dwellers. To make the project economically viable, it had to be different from other offerings in the marketplace. And different it is.
"Justin Hilton had a great vision for this project," states Tom Lea. "He believed that what was essentially a wasteland could be transformed into a thriving community for students, artists and young professionals."
Not only did Hilton provide the vision, but he gave Lea, Rusty Hebert, the contractor, and others working on the project a great deal of freedom regarding both the project's design and construction.
Metropolis was part of the Austin Green Building Program and was built according to green building codes. The project features an array of design components that are much more environmentally friendly than those used in its predecessor. The original driveway paving material was combined with new asphalt for paving throughout the complex. Walls were plastered instead of painted. Floors are hand-stained concrete with carpet used minimally in offices and the clubhouse TV rooms. Finishes were used sparingly to minimize out gassing. The air-conditioning system, gas water heaters and low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets are very efficient and designed to reduce consumption. The Xeriscaped landscape design requires less watering.
"The target market for Metropolis tends to express a greater concern for the environment," Lea states. "Building green was an important part in how this project was developed both from a social and a marketing perspective."
The design itself is characterized by Lea as "retro funk," a combination of design elements, colors and materials that are very non-traditional in most cases. Part of this decision was based on Lea's design. However, the construction strategy also impacted the design. More on that later.
The existing development was very rigid and formal in both layout and design, including colors. The first step was to eliminate all damaged or unusable portions of the property. All existing utilities, and much of the original structures, were gutted.
The colors used on the apartment's exterior, which also were used in the apartments and the clubhouse, create a bold visual image that would be hard to miss. Originally, Lea, with graphic artist David McCann, began the project with a color palette of 100 colors, a number that was quickly reduced to 20 colors that Lea puts in the bronze family. The apartment building on the left side of the front entrance features the project's name in full-height letters, which begins on the front and wraps around to the side. The exteriors of the remaining apartment buildings each have their own distinct design achieved through painting and other design details—a nice break from "traditional" apartment complexes where all units look the same.
The two-story clubhouse is located in the center of the site and boldly conveys the overall character of Metropolis. The clubhouse features several big-screen TV rooms, pool tables, a computer room with work stations for six users, a coffee house and areas for valet and concierge services.
Three geometric shapes were cut into the existing exterior wall on the clubhouse's second level to increase the building's visual interest, a step that also allows natural light to flood the interior. These forms—a triangle, square and circle—are repeated in the clubhouse's interior in a variety of ways from wall treatments to the chairs found in the game room. An outdoor seating area, which is used extensively throughout the day, provides a transition point between the clubhouse and the pool and sand volleyball court.
The structural steel and the duct work in the clubhouse were left exposed, creating a play of forms on the clubhouse ceiling. These exposed structural elements were combined with old antique pressed metal on the ceiling and around the bar to create a very different look. A sander was used on the stainless steel around the fireplace to create a circular pattern. Light shining through the windows reflects off the exposed metal and creates varying visual appearances throughout the day.
Tenants may select from a variety of living options from efficiency apartments to five-bedroom units. Each apartment features a whirlpool tub, custom plaster and stucco walls, Ikea lighting, pickled-oak cabinets, 14-foot vaulted ceilings, stainless steel and glass block accents and dual telephone/modem jacks in every room. Paint, in a very small amount, was combined with cement and plaster to finish the bathroom walls. Tenants can access the complex's Ethernet hub from any room in the complex, a wonderful technological provision given the apartment's target market. The wiring found in the apartments and throughout the complex was designed to accommodate the fastest Internet connections.
The ceramic tile around the bathtub provides an excellent example of the project's design and construction strategy. Traditionally, an architect or interior designer would create a tile pattern that is followed by the contractor. At Metropolis, tile workers were given two colors, black and white, and challenged to change the pattern on every tub. Each bathroom thus has its own custom tile design.
Lea reports that this approach also was used with individuals that were welding, floor staining, painting and sheet metal work.
"The final result is that we have 300 apartments, each with its own look. More important, the project provided a forum to train a number of artisans. We were able to use less skilled labor, the only way we could afford the project, and ended up giving them a great deal of design latitude. They enhanced their skills and we got a wonderful final product."
Lea readily admits that relinquishing some design control wasn't always easy and that, in some cases, he had to take back some freedom initially given to the artisans that worked on the project. At the same time, he also believes that following a more organic process, a series of design decisions made by the owner, architect and contractor that evolved throughout the project, contributed greatly to the success of the final product. While this approach won't work everywhere, it is certainly food for thought.
In addition to the project's design, Lea also created the font that was used to fabricate all metal signage used throughout the apartment complex, including the sign above the main entrances. The client subsequently used the font on all promotional materials associated with the project.
Our society measures success in many ways—the bottom line (Metropolis is almost 100 percent leased for those of you that may be wondering), wise use or reuse of resources and acclaim by others, to name a few. Whatever your measure of a project's success, it's safe to say that The Metropolis is a winner.
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