Urban Planning: A Dive into Fourplexes
INSTRUCTOR: JASON REBILLOT | SPRING 2021
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Phase One
I was asked to create five variations of a fourplex. The requirements were that I keep it to two floors maximum, at least two units had to be ADA accessible, and each had to fit on a 150’ x 50’ lot. The lot that we were given had a set back of 5’ on each side, 10’ in the front and 15’ on the back of the lot.
(A) has four units that are all ADA accessible. This model had two units with two bedrooms/two bathrooms & two units with one bedroom/one bathroom. each has a full kitchen, living room, and space for a dining area. For this design I chose to play with ceiling height and even pitches on mirrored floor plans.
(B) also had four units that are ADA accessible. All four units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I rotated the floor plans in order to change the entrance points of each unit. This will help control the flow of traffic that the residents would see in outside their units.
(C) was the first of the designs to have two floors. There are two units located on the first floor and two located on the second floor; the two units on the bottom floor are ADA accessible. The two units on the bottom floor have one bedroom and one bathroom while the units on the second floor have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The entrance of each unit are located at the center of the property. The landing for the second creates a covered central courtyard for the first floor and has a cover of its own to create a shaded space for the second floor residents.
(D) has two units that are ADA accessible; each unit has one bedroom/one bathroom each. The two units located in the center have two stories. Located on the bottom floor is the living room, kitchen, and a half bath. The second floor houses two bedrooms, a jack-and-jill bathroom and access to a large private balcony area.
(E) was the last to be designed but it was one of my favorite designs. The two outer units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, while the two units in the center were designed with one bedroom, one bathroom, a large dining area, a sizable kitchen island, and a large living room. The two center units designed for someone who likes to entertain guests in mind.
Phase Two
Phase two began with each student being assigned a location in the greater Los Angeles area to investigate. I spent the first couple of weeks of the semester learning how to operate a program called Urban Footprint. I utilized it to sort out property’s zoning types and to locate bus stops, free ways, railways, and the Los Angeles river. The lot I was assigned is located in the city of Paramount, California by the Metro train station.
