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One of the six multifamily award recipients is Live/Work Artists' Housing, in Mount Rainier, Maryland, designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. This is the first phase in a master plan to create affordable housing and arts-oriented venues and services to draw artists from local colleges and neighborhoods to an arts district.

Eighteen live/work unit types cater to individuals or families with adaptable, flexible layouts for living, working, and exhibiting artwork. A colorful exterior echoes facade patterns of the historic neighborhood while reflecting the diversity of the occupants.

In San Diego, California, architect Jonathan Segal, FAIA, designed "K Lofts" to be affordable yet with no government subsidy. His participatory design process included residents, other community stakeholders, local government officials, and civic groups.

The resulting building provides private and shared public spaces that promote social interaction and is an example of adaptive reuse, minimizing deconstruction. The K Lofts project also provides 50 percent of its own electricity. Though low in cost, the jury described the apartment building as: "Elegant! The design looks like a Mondrian painting."

Also the low-budget result of participatory design is the award-winning student housing, Nordheim Court, at the University of Washington in Seattle, designed by Mithun. The student village has townhouses above apartments and an underground parking garage. It has achieved LEED certification by, in part, preserving a pond, incorporating common greens, and adding a bike path to encourage alternative transportation.

The Metro Hollywood mixed-use low-income housing development in Los Angeles, by Kanner Architects, combines energy efficiency with social responsibility. The prototype has 60 units over retail space, a child care center, and a subway station. The building integrates with the neighborhood by lining up a large courtyard with the existing courtyard of an adjacent housing project, and by creating a greater open space between the two. The jury described it as "lively, sustainable and a great example of being active and playful!"

"Not the usual California solution," said the jury of the upscale Orange Grove apartments in West Hollywood, California, designed by Pugh + Scarpa Architects and Engineers. The exteriors are a collage of abstract sculptural elements. The project responds to consumers in a growing niche market who prefer large, simple loft spaces to traditional bungalows.

The only mid-rise building in the collection of AIA housing award recipients is the Contemporaine in Chicago, by Perkins + Will. Twenty-eight condominium units with cantilevered balconies rest on a four-story base for retail and parking. The Contemporaine mediates the varying scale and context in its neighborhood of mid-rise warehouses converted into residential lofts and towers. The jury was impressed with it as a bold example of using "concrete technology as a design element."   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE "K Lofts" by Jonathan Segal, FAIA is one of 13 projects cited in the AIA 2006 Housing Committee Awards program. Photo: Jonathan Segal, FAIA "K Lofts." Photo: Jonathan Segal, FAIA Nordheim Court by Mithun. Photo: Doug Scott Photography Nordheim Court. Photo: Doug Scott Photography Metro Hollywood by Kanner Architects. Photo: John Linden Metro Hollywood. Photo: John Linden Orange Grove apartments by Pugh + Scarpa Architects and Engineers. Photo: Marvin Rand Orange Grove apartments. Photo: Marvin Rand   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.