The recently completed Westwood Family Housing has been recognized by the Boston Society of Architects/AIA for the 2019 Accessible Design Awards! Congrats, Team!

Six duplex buildings provide accessible public housing for veterans and their families while helping to renew an overlooked neighborhood.

The project builds out an abandoned block near the city center close to transit and community services. Homes line all four streets with an animated massing that gives low roll-in buildings a dignified presence and each apartment an individual identity. Parking is accessed from a rear drive to keep the streets free of curb cuts and cars close to entries but screened from view.

Three different building types include a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments. Porches front and back provide private outdoor places while engaging the surrounding neighborhood; corner windows look out to the community. South facing roofs will be covered with solar panels while east and west facing clerestories, shaded with overhangs, bring light deep into the center of each apartment. Inside, the sloping roofs and high windows provide a light filled environment.

Every aspect of the planning and design is intended to foster resident participation in community life, access to daylight and the landscape, and independence supported by parking, walks, entries, kitchens, bathrooms, closets and interior spaces designed around Universal Design principles.

The future PV panels, high performance envelopes and building systems, and raingardens for storm water management provide a model for affordable sustainable design accessible to everyone.