The Arroyo is an affordable housing project听in Santa Monica, California, created for low-income residents听and with a听particular focus听on families. Koning听Eizenberg听has designed an exceptional project that balances efficiency听with delight, supports its community, optimizes environmental听performance and offers amenity to its urban context.听

Two five-storey parallel blocks frame a courtyard听that is conceived as a big backyard 鈥� a social hub with generous听community spaces opening onto and contained within it.听The courtyard is a reminder of the arroyo (from the Spanish听for 鈥渃reek鈥�) that once ran through the site, and this informs听its spatial and ecological qualities. Planted with undulating听pockets of drought-tolerant native species, the courtyard is听open-ended, tempering the urban edge and lending landscape听and shelter to the street.听

The Arroyo rejoices in its southern Californian climate,听with open walkways and expressed corridors that enliven and听connect the buildings. Strong colour is used deftly to articulate听structure, soffits and sunshades from the sun-bleached primary听massing. In a climate with such high contrast, the deliberate听design of elements heightens shadow play and belies the simple听form of the buildings. The crisp shadows made by window听sunshades, offset between floors, transform flat walls and听animate the facades.听

In this rapidly densifying setting, the Arroyo Affordable听Housing project demonstrates the formal opportunities of听environmental and urban responsiveness. It affirms that affordable听housing is a critical concern for听architecture, and听shows that听within the limits of typology and budget, thoughtful design听can make beautiful, amenable places, where residents can听live and thrive with dignity.