Bancroft Senior Homes
Oakland, CA

SUMMARY: A large building fits into the scale and architectural heritage of its neighborhood while providing a large courtyard refuge hidden from the street in which residents can enjoy Nature.

This project provides 61 new units of HUD 202-program affordable housing to seniors in East Oakland.

Parameters for the project were established through community meetings and meeting with seniors in other Oakland affordable apartment buildings. The process also involved coordinating the different priorities of the developer client Affordable Housing Associates (AHA) and the operator client Christian Church Homes (CCH) who manages the building.

The neighborhood has many Craftsman bungalows, but the immediate neighbors are mostly 60’s and 70’s modern apartment buildings. This building is designed to strengthen the Craftsman presence in the neighborhood through its overall massing and use of rich colors, materials, brackets, double columns, and other architectural elements.

The three story building is massed to reduce its scale, and designed around a south-facing courtyard, where a grand oval path provides a protected walking area for the residents.

The building incorporates such environmentally friendly products as recycled siding, engineered lumber, and low-e glazing.

Costs were tracked and controlled throughout the project by Mikiten Architecture, coordinating several all-day workshops with the preselected general contractor and their potential subcontractors. They received preliminary drawing sets to which they gave budget numbers. During the workshops we discussed alternate materials and methods that would keep the costs down without sacrificing function or quality.

Details such as the balcony rail, exterior gates, and main porch screen were inspired by African Kuba weavings and used as an homage to the primarilly African-American neighborhood.

Efficiency mandated a double-loaded corridor, but the building form is broken in places to allow light in and to allow views of the courtyard.

The angle of the main corridor creates two smaller halls and prevents the building from overpowering the courtyard. The feeling in the courtyard is like a Tuscan town center.

A trellis at the laundry room is directly across from the trellis at the lobby, creating an axis along the long oval in the courtyard.

Project Data
Building: 61 units (45,200 s.f.)
Construction Cost: $5,350,000 ($87/s.f.)
Site: 1.4 acres (43 units per acre)
Parking Spaces: 37 (0.6 per unit)
Features: Community room, gracious lobby and oval courtyard with walking path.

Awards and Publications:
Residential Architect December 2002

Project Team:
Developer Client: Affordable Housing Associates -Berkeley, CA
Operator Client: Christian Church Homes, Oakland, CA
Contractor: Oliver & Company, Richmond, CA
Principal Designer: Erick Mikiten, AIA

Main entry porch

Courtyard

Floor Plan

Courtyard Entry