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MAYFLOWER SEASIDE APARTMENTS
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INFO + STORY
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CLIENT:
LOCATION: |
The Harbor Group
Virginia Beach, VA |
VIA was invited to participate in a shortlist competition offering new designs for the renovation of a long-standing oceanfront high rise. The proposed work included refinishing all interior public spaces, renovating the existing lobby, and redesigning and reprogramming a unified series of outdoor spaces that surround the apartment tower. Along with these tasks, the ownership group requested a limited scope of demolition for the existing interior spaces as well as both the indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
In its current form, the building can be described as an extrusion of two overlapping crosses placed centrally within a simple rectangular lot. This juxtaposition of massing and site has created a series of six pockets which have been only partially programmed. Unfortunately, the majority of these pockets are fragmented, leftover spaces without any demonstrated purpose or use. The limited programming that does exist includes two swimming pools, an outdoor patio, and access to the parking garage.
Our design strategy focused on the unification of these disparate outdoor pockets, creating a unique program and purpose for each pocket. In this way, building the block from the inside – out, a cohesive, connected site package emerged which offers genuine amenities to the resident as well as a clearly defined extended living space. Additionally, cues were taken from the surrounding resort developments which inspired the many stylistic elements incorporated into our work. The overall affect cultivates a new image for the Mayflower as a comfortable, luxurious resort-styled apartment.
In its current form, the building can be described as an extrusion of two overlapping crosses placed centrally within a simple rectangular lot. This juxtaposition of massing and site has created a series of six pockets which have been only partially programmed. Unfortunately, the majority of these pockets are fragmented, leftover spaces without any demonstrated purpose or use. The limited programming that does exist includes two swimming pools, an outdoor patio, and access to the parking garage.
Our design strategy focused on the unification of these disparate outdoor pockets, creating a unique program and purpose for each pocket. In this way, building the block from the inside – out, a cohesive, connected site package emerged which offers genuine amenities to the resident as well as a clearly defined extended living space. Additionally, cues were taken from the surrounding resort developments which inspired the many stylistic elements incorporated into our work. The overall affect cultivates a new image for the Mayflower as a comfortable, luxurious resort-styled apartment.
"A diagram shapes the way you think - it simplifies figures to convey the essential meaning of a form. For the Mayflower Seaside Apartments, a study of the solids and voids formed between the building and the site revealed a pattern of pockets. These pockets became the driver of the project."
- Donna Phaneuf
President, VIA