The program for this single resident occupancy housing project includes:

• 44 single resident occupancy units (375 square feet max per unit)

• Community Room

• Mail Room

• Outdoor common courtyard spaces @ ground level and 2nd level

• On-grade covered parking for 20 cars

• Bike Storage

Courtesy of brooks + scarpa

Colorado Court features several state of the art technologies that distinguish it as a model demonstration building of sustainable energy supply and utilization. These technologies include a natural gas powered turbine/heat recovery system that generate the base electrical load and hot water demands for the building and a solar electric panel system integrated into the facade and roof of the building that supply most of the peak load electricity demand.

Courtesy of brooks + scarpa

The co-generation system converts utility natural gas to electricity to meet the base load power needs of the building and captures waste heat to produce hot water for the building throughout the year as well as space heating needs in the winter. This system has a conversion efficiency of natural gas in excess of 85% compared to a less than 30% conversion efficiency of primary energy delivered by the utility grid at the building site.

The solar photovoltaic system produces green electricity at the building site that releases no pollutants to the environment. The panels are integral to the building envelope and unused solar electricity is delivered to the grid during the daytime and retrieved from the grid at night as needed. These systems will pay for themselves in less than ten years and annual savings in electricity and natural gas bills are estimated to be in excess of $6000.

Courtesy of brooks + scarpa

Colorado Court received the following awards: 2003 National AIA Design Award, 2003 AIACC Award, 2003 AIA/LA Award, 2003 Rudy Bruner Prize, 2003 World Habitat Award Finalist, 2003 AIA COTE “Top Ten Green Building” Award, 2003 AIA PIA National Housing Award, SCANPH “Project of the Year”, 2002 Westside Urban Prize, LEEDTM “Gold” Certified and was published in over 100 journals and books.

• Architects

  Brooks + Scarpa

• Location

  502 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401, USA

• Category

  Office Buildings

• Project In Charge

  Lawrence Scarpa, AIA

• Project Architect

  Angela Brooks, AIA

• Project Team

  Gwynne Pugh, AIA, Anne Marie Burke, Heather Duncan, Vanessa Hardy, Bettina Hermsen, Tim Peterson, Ching Luk, Jackson Butler, Steve Kodama, FAIA

• Project Energy Engineer

  Dr. John G. Ingersoll of Helios International Inc

• Structural Engineering

  Youssef Associates

• Mep Engineering

  Storms and Lowe

• Landscape Architects

  Dry Design, Inc

• Client

  Community Corporation of Santa Monica

• Area

  30150.0 m2

• Project Year

  2002