Santa Monica Vermont Apartments | KoningEizenberg Architecture

New affordable family housing and neighborhood retail transform underutilized real estate at the Vermont/Santa Monica subway plaza into a community hub that strengthens connections between home, neighborhood, and transit. Located in dense, low-income, ethnically diverse East Hollywood—where public space is scarce—the project frames and expands the Metro plaza through landscaped terraces, balconies, and bridges that link residential social life to the public realm below.

Inspired by Chicano urbanist James Rojas and John Kamp’s writing on disappearing informality and sense of place, the design draws on Los Angeles’ vibrant vernacular with games of scale, texture, color, and shadow to promote a sense of ease, discovery, and delight. Developed jointly with Los Angeles Metro and Little Tokyo Service Center, the project delivers 2300 square meters of retail and 187 affordable homes with shared amenities using standardized units and panelized wood construction to support economy and sustainability.