Atmosphere Affordable Housing
San Diego
Award of Merit

Owner: Wakeland Housing and Development Corp.
Lead Design Firm: Joseph Wong Design Associates
General Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co.

Built on an abandoned lot in downtown San Diego, the Atmosphere Affordable Housing complex overcame financing and construction challenges while maintaining high safety standards. The urban-infill project’s finance structure included Low Income Housing Tax Credits as well as six other funding sources, and each source came with its own regulations and compliance measures. Atmosphere’s building canopy solar panels could not be installed using a typical scaffolding system, so the team devised an alternate anchor system for fall protection. The project was shrouded to prevent falling debris, and the team took care to protect adjacent buildings, including a 100-year-old structure. The team’s upfront planning process paid dividends during construction of the cast-in-place concrete structure. A 3D-model-based quality control process, using a fully coordinated construction model, generated detailed pre-pour coordinated layout drawings. The 205-unit, 12-story apartment complex earned LEED Silver certification.

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