First Stop

Team: Chentian Liu, Xinyu Chen, Jeremy Harrienger

Professor: Jesus Vassallo

Role: project design, Rhino modeling, 2D drawing, lead in perspective visualization

The project proposes a new multifamily construction for Gulfton the neighborhood in Houston, Texas. It is a large development with both shorter term rental units and longer term LEC (Limited Equity Cooperative) group-owned units.

The short term rentals serve residents who may be new to Gulfton, Houston, or the US, therefore giving the project name “First Stop”. The mix of rental studios, work-live units and two-bedroom apartments adds to the diversity of the neighbourhood.

Three buildings prototypes are developed to fulfill the scheme - two T shape buildings with different core sizes, and a lowrise bar building. A modular system accommodates different unit types: the standardized rooms can be aggregated flexibly to form various units from studio to 2-bedroom. The building elements are modularized as well to achieve more efficiency and quality during constrcution.

On the selected site in Gulfton, the buildings are orgainzed along a sunken central park. During floodings, the park serves as a detention. The openness of the site adds a key piece of social infrastructure to the current public park lacking neighborhood. The buildings have their balconies overlooking the park to provide enough surveillance. The buildings are grouped into fenced communities with covered walkways, ensuring the safety of the residents.

Financially, rents are kept low enough to qualify the development for LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit), and a 3.6% return on investment is predicted at the end of a 10-year period.