Marla Manor Apartments

Collaborating with ROSE Community Development, we designed this renovation to provide energy efficient & low-maintenance solutions to extend the life of this 40 year old affordable housing community.

With an emphasis on triple bottom line sustainability, the project team focused on how we could create a better place to live, a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment for tenants, and extend the life of a naturally affordable apartment complex. To achieve these goals we re-skinned each building’s exterior with new siding & insulation, while utilizing updated building science principles.

Each ground floor unit received a small canopy and wood privacy screening to provide covered outdoor space, activating the central landscape area and reinforcing the community connections. To create a beautiful, inviting, and long-lasting project we introduced natural wood in the protected areas under the canopies, while a durable fiber cement rainscreen siding system is utilized on the walls with more weather exposure. We also replaced all of the windows and doors to increase the insulation value of the building envelope and reduce drafts, moisture issues, and energy loss.

The interiors of each unit were also designed for more efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems with upgrades to the kitchens and bathrooms.

Affordable housing is one of the biggest issues facing the Portland region and we are proud to be working on finding ways to help address this need. Building renovations like this, where we can lengthen the life of older housing stock - is a great cost-effective way to provide much needed affordable housing. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Portland’s Community Development organizations to continue providing healthy sustainable and affordable housing that is accessible to people of all incomes and backgrounds.

For more information about our experience and process as architect on multifamily design, please visit this page.