Handel Architects

The Pacific involved the adaptive reuse of a 1967 dental teaching facility into a multifamily residential building, as well as the creation of ten new townhouses on an adjacent surface parking lot.

The original building was essentially built like a hospital, with high ceilings and large floorplates, which translated well to a residential building. The heavy precast concrete façade was removed and replaced with a window wall system composed of champagne colored metal panels and floor-to-ceiling glass. Window openings were made much larger, such that they are now the dominant feature in the façade. Additionally, triangular bays that are as tall as the windows extend past the building face, so that each apartment can actually look down onto the streetscape below. These “glass apertures” create a strong geometric presence and textural quality, while breaking up the building’s mass.

Next door, a series of ten modern townhouses were designed to relate in scale to the Victorian houses throughout the neighborhood, while visually tying to the main building through their geometric facades and materials.

With pitched rooflines and angular bay windows, the townhouses are clearly part of the larger complex yet offer a home-like experience with larger spaces and more privacy. The exterior facades are composed of red cedar siding combined with Swiss Pearl cementitious panels and silvery glass that is lined in a brushed aluminum trim.

Inside, Handel Interiors drew inspiration from the Bulgari Hotels in Milan and London and the Setai in Miami, with a design to embody cosmopolitan refinement.

World-renowned artist Helen Amy Murray was engaged to create a stunning installation within the lobby, complemented by a palette of blacks, emeralds and golds, which echo the late evening colors of Northern California.