Novato Senior Housing, Californian Residences, CA Housing, USA Residential Architecture Images
Novato Senior Housing in California
Dec 30, 2020
Novato Senior Housing
Design: Messana O’Rorke Architects
Location: Novato, California, United States of America

The given site for Novato Senior Housing inspired a concept based on medieval hill towns of Europe. Messana O’Rorke Architects created a high density modular living environment evocative of a village on the ridge of the hill, to the South of Bahia Drive. This allowed the architects to take advantage of the views over the Petaluma River valley and kept the project close to transportation links, with a cluster of three to five houses at every level sharing a common car parking area and garden path access.
Messana O’Rorke Architects aim is to provide an architectural framework where traditional community living is enhanced and passive human interaction can thrive, while individual privacy and independence are maintained.

Paths and staircases link the entire site, but all senior units and the community center are wheelchair accessible. The architecture will enhance the possibility of casual interaction among the inhabitants with a combination of shared and private external space; roofs, courtyards and terraces become public and private gardens.

Each unit in outline has the same footprint, the internal size is moderated by the introduction of internal courtyards, which expand the potential private living...