Designing spaces where neighborhoods gather, stories unfold, and small businesses grow
Excited to present Studio BANAA's 22nd Street Condominium project! Here are a few takeaways from our first “architect as developer” experience (so far) 👇 While its hillside terrain definitely comes with challenges, we loved the fact that the site is on a corner lot, allowing us to maximize natural light and views from three facades. And as a bonus, there is only one neighbor to deal with! We were able to legalize five units instead of the zone’s limit of three, due to San Francisco’s “fourplex ordinance”. This 2022 expansion of SB9 allows property owners to build fourplexes on single-family lots and up to six units on corner lots citywide. Another interesting aspect of this site is the city-owned parcel next door (hence its corner lot condition). The overgrown piece of land holds the “Kansas Street Steps”, which has become a pedestrian thoroughfare from Zuckerberg General Hospital to Upper Kansas Street. This makes for some interesting people-watching, lots of people walking around in scrubs! Through the city’s encroachment permit process, we were able to find ways to legally modify the land by way of grading and adding light wells to allow for more natural light to flow into the below-grade spaces. While our plan is to fully protect and retain the Kansas Street Steps, our approved development plans include landscaping the parcel with natural planting for both residents and the public to enjoy (and additional curb appeal 😎). We were shocked as to how smooth the planning department’s approval came (6 months!), after experiencing several more basic residential projects which took over a year in planning. Stay tuned for more takeaways related to the building design and permitting process, which I'll share over the next couple weeks. #SanFranciscoArchitect #RealEstateDevelopment #MultifamilyDesign #Architecture #DesignExcellence #UrbanLiving #SustainableArchitecture #CommunityBuilding #InnovativeDesign #ArchitecturalTrends