Built over the Louisiana Purchase restaurant, The Louisiana apartment complex in San Diego is constructed around a series of open courtyards and expansive timber-clad decks.
San Diego studio Jeff Svitak designed the 15 apartments and on-site restaurant, which are both named after the location on Louisiana Street in the upcoming North Park neighbourhood.

The housing is built around a central courtyard, with additional voids built around the building so that each unit has a private outdoor deck.
"Naturally, with creating outdoor rooms open to the sky, the footprint of the building gets smaller every floor as it goes up," explained the studio.

In the central patio space the studio used smooth white plaster to finish the walls and concrete pavers  to cover the ground with the aim of  making the enclosed area feel large and open. "The void spaces are all designed to be private and open to the sky," the studio said. "The mass was designed around the void, placing value and intention on these empty spaces, so that 100 per cent of actual building volume is utilised efficiently."

The open spaces help to passively cool the apartments, with cool air that collects in the courtyards and flowing into the surrounding rooms as warm air passes over the building.
Various sized rectangle and square timber framed windows punctuate the black acrylic plaster exterior. The size and placement of the windows take advantage of views and provide air flow.
"Th...