Sunset District Housing Competition entry,
San Francisco CA
Designed as John G. Ellis Architect with Dicko Ba, 2023
The SF AIA organized an ideas competition to explore how to achieve higher density multi0family housing in San Francisco’s Sunset District. With the changes in the Planning Code to replace Single Family zoning, the competition was intended to demonstrate how multi-family housing could be accommodated within the existing context without necessarily provoking the usual NIMBY firestorm.
The competition was made realistic by the elimination of any on-site parking, especially challenging on narrow midblock parcels.
Two sites were developed, one midblock parcel which could accommodate a six-plex, and a corner parcel that could accommodate an eight-plex.
In both cases the architectural language was modest and unassuming in order not to frighten the neighbors!
Designs for multi-familly housing on both mid-block and corner lot parcels. Six-plex and eight-plex houses are possible without overwhelming the scale of the neighborhood.
Plans showing the configuration of the pairs of stacked two-story townhouses over ground floor flats and the two studios at the back of the lot.
Corner Parcel eight-plex consisting of walk-up stacked townhouses and stacked flats.
Plans showing the configuration of the stacked two-story townhouses and flats. A single stair access is possible within the current building codes.