El Chalet
2014 / Philadelphia, PA
UNDERSIDE OF THE TRACKS
Developing underutilized land adjacent to transit infrastructure is a key tool in adding to the supply of walkable urban housing. This 7-unit mixed-use apartment building in Philadelphia’s East Kensington neighborhood embraces the experience of living adjacent to the busy Market-Frankford elevated train, turning a skinny vacant lot into housing that emphasizes intimacy with the railroad. The building’s quirky roofline connects the dots of an unusual zoning envelope requiring a minimum cornice height of 20 feet facing the train while limiting the overall roof height to a mean of 38 feet. The sloped roof pushes and pulls to address the train experience through a series of peaks and valleys occupied by carved balconies. A continuous ribbon of standing seam metal roofing wraps down to the front and rear facades, creating a playful elevation reminiscent of an alpine mountain range.
STRAIGHT & NARROW
With the goal of transforming the experience of the train from a noisy liability into an asset, the massing shifts the building’s program to the long edge of the 20-foot-wide site, creating an interior façade along a five-foot-wide side yard and adding stepped balconies buffering units facing the train. An already narrow site is made thinner, but the resulting plan unlocks the south wall for a side entry to an efficient switchback stair accessing six units and south-facing windows with light, air, and views on the landlocked infill site. The north-facing blank property line facade featured a mural by a local artist oriented toward viewers riding south on the train before being covered by development on the adjacent parcel.
ROOMS WITH A VIEW
The building’s unique carved terraces painted a vibrant golden orange allow residents to engage directly with the experience of living on the train. In order to manage acoustics, the building envelope employs triple-glazed windows, which also serve to increase energy performance. A street-facing storefront is tucked underneath the units above, activating Front Street under the elevated tracks.
