The Alvidrez
The Alvidrez is a proposed new permanent supportive housing (PSH) development in Los Angeles to be developed by Skid Row Housing Trust and designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture. Planned for the Skid Row neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, the 77,190 square foot, 14-story building will replace an old existing five-story residential building. This new residential construction is designed to be one of the first in the country to utilize a mass timber building frame system. This proposed PSH development will serve the community by providing 150 studio apartments, and 1 manager’s unit, for formerly homeless individuals. Plans for each apartment includes a bathroom, kitchen, appliances, and furnishings to support independent living. The building will host supportive services space for case managers on the ground floor.
The Alvidrez is named after Skid Row Housing Trust’s former CEO, Mike Alvidrez, who dedicated 27 years of service to the organization and is a life-long advocate of ensuring people experiencing homelessness have dignified homes with supportive services so they may break the cycle of homelessness for good.
The building’s architectural form is a collection of vertical “bundles” of varying heights and elevations that create outdoor roof terraces on the 2nd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th floors. These terraces serve as important resting places for residents to enjoy the outdoors while also allowing for more natural light and ventilation to reach individual apartments.
The proposed construction will incorporate modular building blocks made of cross-laminated timber (CLT) columns, beams, and gravity framing deck members that contain the basic dwelling unit types. Mass timber systems are typically more fire resistant, provide strong structural integrity but are lighter in weight, are sustainable, and can provide time-saving efficiency benefits during construction. As cities across California are experiencing an unprecedented rise in their homeless populations, mass timber construction represents a new, repeatable model for building high-quality, low-income multifamily housing across California.
Architect
Michael Maltzan Architecture
In the News
Skid Row Housing Trust, Michael Maltzan Architecture plan mass-timber housing tower
Skid Row Housing Trust Plans Mass Timber High-Rise in DTLA
Michael Maltzan Architecture designs affordable mass timber housing tower for Skid Row
