Flanders

The site is located One block east of NW 23rd with its only frontage along NW Flanders St., in the Northwest Plan District and Alphabet Historic District. It is currently used as parking for the adjacent Kitchen Kaboodle building. At the urban scale of the street grid and City block, the site and immediate vicinity derives its character from nearby NW 23rd Ave which is lined with a variety of historic buildings, eateries, shops and residences above the ground level. The intersection of NW 23rd and NW Flanders is just west of the site. This intersection ties the commercial storefront character of NW 23rd to the more residential area along NW Flanders. The site exists at an opportunity to bridge active uses from NW 23rd and connect to the more residential area on NW Flanders.

Building from observations of building forms and typologies in the neighborhood, the development/design team started with a goal to create a cohesive, current interpretation of the historic district for a new four story, 21 unit co-housing project. The proposed design is sympathetic to the building’s context and surrounding typologies of commercial structures to the west and north, while respecting the existing residential buildings to the north and east and activating the streetscape along NW Flanders. Parking is maintained on the west half of the site for the Kitchen Kaboodle building to comply with an old zone change condition while parking for the residence is located below grade. In general, the building adheres to these standards with the material selections, scale, and form. In turn, the architecture of the building utilizes traditional building forms, typologies, and materials in a contemporary way which integrates with the existing commercial and residential buildings in the neighborhood. While ground floor commercial is not allowed in the site, a generous amount of common space for residents located at this level activates the NW Flanders frontage.