Sierra Bonita is a 50,000 sf five-story mixed-use affordable housing building commissioned by the non-profit West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (WHCHC). The ground floor provides office spaces for WHCHC and other non-profits while the 42 one-bedroom units above are reserved for low-income residents with special needs. Steel framing with long span decks are used to accommodate the parking grid below and to minimize floor to floor dimensions. Parking for retail use and visitors is provided at grade and resident parking is located in the subterranean garage below. An outdoor bamboo courtyard provides a garden for residents from which access to the units is provided. Each apartment has its own private balcony and common areas exist for the residents as well as for public use. Laundry facilities and other support spaces are also provided.
The building is the pilot project for the City of West Hollywood’s Green Building Ordinance, a local alternative to LEED, and incorporates green elements such as low-impact building materials and photovoltaic panels on the façade and roof for general energy usage and for heating domestic water.
Owner: West Hollywood Community Housing Corp.
Architect: Tighe Architecture
2014 AIA / HUD Secretary’s Award for Housing Accessibility Award
2013 AISC Ideas2 Merit Award
2012 American Architecture Award – Chicago Athenaeum
2012 SEAoNY Excellence in Structural Engineering Winner-New Under $30M
2011 SEAOSC Award of Merit for Excellence in Structural Engineering – New Construction
2011 Residential Architect Design Awards – Affordable Housing Merit Award
2010 Interior Design Magazine – Best of Year 2010, Multi-Unit Dwelling
2008 Los Angeles Business Council – Architectural Award for Design Concept