![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a4e5/3312/fde1/c800/02dc/newsletter/0A0A4085_FINAL_crop2.jpg?1580442835)
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Architects: the architects collective
- Area: 48775 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Panic Studio LA
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Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Carlisle SynTec, James Hardie, McNichols, Trimble
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Lead Architect: Richard Prantis
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a55f/3312/fd12/f700/0133/newsletter/0A0A5603.jpg?1580442955)
Text description provided by the architects. Located in close proximity to the MTA Exposition Line Expo / Western station, the project is situated along a bustling commercial corridor of neighborhood-serving mom-and-pop shops on Western Blvd. The project illustrates a diagrammatic approach to design, starting with the essential building blocks of the program, which are then shaped by the external constraints that act upon it. The project provides 16 two- and three-bedroom units for families and 16 one-bedroom units for homeless veterans.
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a633/3312/fd12/f700/0137/newsletter/Panorama6_Final3.jpg?1580443159)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a2c9/3312/fde1/c800/02d9/newsletter/15003_-META_Western-1.jpg?1580442265)
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Interior Photography, Windows, Door](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a5e3/3312/fd12/f700/0135/newsletter/AK2I2983_Contrast.jpg?1580443088)
The program also includes social services, a community room, a 2nd-floor garden terrace, and a roof deck. Three stories of high-density apartment stock are placed over a ground-level parking podium. The residential floors feature open-ended corridors to provide ample cross-ventilation throughout the length of the building. External forces, such as the fine texture and smaller scale of adjacent single-family residences, and the traffic speeding by on Western, push and pull on the massing, refining its form.
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Interior Photography, Dining room, Table, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a611/3312/fd12/f700/0136/newsletter/Panorama_CR_cropped.jpg?1580443133)
The forces generate a roof deck on the south end of the structure as well as an overhanging front façade, creating the opportunity for a green landscaped corridor at the pedestrian level. A narrow courtyard adjoins the backside of the building on the second level, providing a garden refuge lifted above ground level and sheltered from public view. The main façade can be read as a blank white canvas punctuated by openings, bordered by projecting shading fins, interacting with the environment and creating a pixelating effect that pops with color.
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Exterior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a5ab/3312/fd12/f700/0134/newsletter/0A0A5629.jpg?1580443031)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a375/3312/fde1/c800/02db/newsletter/15003_-META_Western-4.jpg?1580442434)
![Metro at Western Housing / the architects collective - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e33/a5cc/3312/fde1/c800/02e1/medium_jpg/0A0A5635.jpg?1580443062)