Building Development

Beginning with strategically setting a gradient and grid to the site, buildings subtly disappear as they get closer and closer to the park. By bringing the Rio Hondo River onto the site, concrete stepping is derived from this movement pulling the water and bike path inland. With this gesture in place, the northernmost residential building deems as a strong building with design cues from the big idea of the strict urban edge and the park atmosphere as well as tackling the grid as it narrows to the north. With the lifted train line, the building mimics this by offering open space underneath the building. In the park, an amphitheater is programmed along the bike path in a way that offers a direct relationship to the pulling and stepping as the movements made for the Rio Hondo River. The 104 unit mixed-use building shares as a strong structure while keeping a noticeable edge between what is urban edge, building, as well as park through the transparent screens around the building. The unique nature-ness of the building is displayed through the voids as well as unique panels per unit of the building. The voids act as a buffer for nature to grow and thrive while the panels on each unit help to make the end user feel at home while offering natural elements to the facade of the building. While all relating back to the park and big idea of the site, the structure stands alone at the northernmost point of the site tying all ideas and concepts together from the rest of the proposed master plan site of the El Monte Bus Station.