Cypress Receives Merit Award in Gold Nugget Awards

The 63-unit permanent supportive housing facility has received a merit award in the prestigious Gold Nugget Awards, given by the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC). Honored in the category of Best Supportive/Transitional Housing, the Cypress Apartments project is eligible to win the Grand Award in the same category. The programs winners will be announced June 28.

Part of an initiative to boost affordable housing options in downtown San Diego, the 63-unit Cypress Apartments offers permanent housing with convenient access to critical social services such as outpatient treatment and job training. The design intent was to create a community of residences that anyone would be proud to call home, within the constraints of a construction site less than a quarter-acre in size.

Notable design features include the “abstracted tree canopy” elegantly executed in a zinc metal panel, a crystal-clear common space defined by an aluminum window system and forming the heart of the building, and a ground floor characterized by a large glazed area flanked by concrete walls in a board-formed finish that adds texture and visual interest. The remaining portion of the ground floor is defined by an architectural grade perforated metal screen and a gate concealing the parking entry. On the east façade, one of the burnt orange vertical components is carried along the full extent of the façade to meet a white plaster stair tower. At the podium level, private patios interspersed with landscape also enhance this façade. The west façade is defined by a lighter plaster finish with a series of reveals and a punched window pattern that provides a quiet background for the landscaped courtyard.