La Mora Senior Housing
Created as part of my tenure at Perkins Eastman Architects
Yonkers, NY
Situated in Yonkers on the site of a former elementary school, the Yonkers Housing Authority wanted to provide 60 one and two-bedroom affordable apartments as supportive housing for seniors.
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In order to meet the budgetary restrictions that would make this project affordable, the building was designed to be modular wood construction. Each apartment’s two components ( Living/Dining/Kitchen and Bedroom/Bathroom, were factory built and shipped to the site for assembly into the final building. Energy conservation was also key to keeping operating costs down, and the building has been designed to meet Passive House certification, which is the most energy efficient approach to building systems and energy usage. The four-story massing responds to the neighborhood height context of other apartment buildings and a church.
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![Bright living room with large windows showing trees outside, gray sofa with blue pillows, a modern chair, round coffee table with a book, potted plant, and a patterned rug.]()
Large wrap-around triple-glazed windows belie the sense that affordable housing cannot feel gracious and light-filled, creating the feeling of generous space.
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![Site plan for Longfellow Senior Living at 23 Mulberry Street in Yonkers, New York, showing proposed building, parking lot, landscaping, and surrounding streets.]()
The building has frontage on three streets, creating a rear public courtyard and parking area. The massing has been articulated, by varying the depth and materials on the façade, to create the impression of a row of townhomes rather than a monolithic building. The sloping site allowed for the creation of taller ceilings on the lower public floor, which includes lobby, exercise and a community room for programs and other functions.
