To preserve a piece of neighborhood history and reclaim the coherence of the residential community, the proposed site plan keeps three of the existing California bungalows on site at their original location, setback 30 feet from street. Incorporating two bungalow-style 2-story duplexes (a familiar housing typology) into the space behind the existing bungalows create a community open garden space facing the street.

A single level subterranean garage with 117 parking spaces serving both residents and visitors is tucked away to the back half of the site and is accessed from the wallet, serving to eliminate vehicular traffic from Doran Avenue. The garage placement allows for the preservation of the front courtyard and community garden to grow large sized trees in addition to the drought-tolerant landscape throughout the project. Two higher density 2 to 3 story bungalow-style courtyard homes are situated on the garage podium to provide 53 condo units. The building massing arrangement allows for smaller sized buildings to front residential gathering areas and to serve as a background to the community open space and the lower-density front courtyard.

The unit make-up consists of 1-3 bedroom units arranged as flats, townhouses and walk-ups. All units are entered from a courtyard via ground floor porches or walkup stairs. Private yards are provided for all ground floor units while upper units have private balconies.

The architecture of Doran Gardens inherits architectural elements from California bungalows, utilizing the attic space for third floor occupancy to reduce the building massing. Roof variations, open porches and balconies both facilitate and add unique character to each unit. In keeping with today’s need for sustainable practices, ‘green’ elements have also been incorporated into the aesthetic, such as operable window shutters and solar roof shingles.

Doran Gardens not only offers 60 affordable homes for the city, but is conscious of conserving a piece of neighborhood history while offering a sustainable green project sensitive to the environment and coherent to the community.