Carter Terrace
San Francisco
Van Meter Williams Pollack / Fougeron Architecture

Network of streets and open spaces defines a new urban typology

© Albert Vecerka/Esto

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Mercy Housing California developed Carter Terrace, an affordable housing complex, with funds from the San Francisco mayor’s office and state tax credits. The 101-unit garden style property is located on a steeply sloped 3.3-acre site in the Visitation Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. A community center anchors the complex’s southeastern corner and features a large, two-story meeting room that opens onto a public plaza.

To accommodate the site’s steep grade, the architects organized the apartments into four groupings, spread around a network of pedestrian and vehicular paths and parking courts. They believe they have defined a new typology of urban spaces, a pattern of on-site streets and open spaces reminiscent of those in older San Francisco neighborhoods, which can set a precedent for further development in the surrounding community.

All apartments are three-story walk-ups. Floor-to-ceiling windows and corner bays flood interior spaces with natural light and provide many units with views of the East Bay. The architects sought to create a design language that is both disciplined yet engaging. They did so by creating an exterior composition of subtly shifting planes of board siding, slated wood railings, and cement plaster walls painted in warm, muted tones.

Formal name of Project:
Carter Terrace

Location:
San Francisco

Gross square footage:
112, 474 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$21 Million

Owner:
Mercy Housing California

Architect:
Van Meter Williams Pollack
Architecture• Urban Design
18 DeBoom Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Ph: (415) 974-5352
Fax: (415) 974-5238
www. vmwp.com

Fougeron Architecture
720 York Street # 107
San Francisco, CA 94110
Ph: (415) 641-5744
Fax: (415) 282-6434
www.fougeron.com