Low Income, High Design

Seen, while driving around, this snappy complex of affordable apartments, called Tahiti Housing (in honor of the "dingbat" apartments that were on the site before), located on Centinela between Pearl and Pico.

Tahiti Housing

It's designed by Daly Genik (of Art Center's South Campus and Camino Nuevo High School), for the Community Corporation of Santa Monica. Under the direction of Joan Ling, CCSM has carved out a niche for itself building low-income housing with high design values. Ling has a talent for developing projects on challenging sites, like commercial strips, and embracing unabashedly modern architecture; other CCSM projects include Colorado Place and Broadway Housing (by Pugh + Scarpa) and 26th Street (by Kanner Architects). CCSM's projects, including the soon-to-be-completed Tahiti Housing, which consists of 2 and 3-storey blocks connected by shared courtyards and flying bridges, show that it's possible to build life-enhancing housing, even on a shoe-string. 

Exterior of CCSM Housing at 26th Street