Blue Oak Landing

This project sets a new bar for performance, resourcefulness, and connection to place for permanent supportive housing in the Bay Area. The all-electric affordable building—on track for zero energy—was built with modular technology to streamline delivery of much-needed homes for unhoused residents near downtown Vallejo.

This project is the architect’s first zero energy permanent supportive housing and the developer’s first modular project. The 54 mods were fabricated by a local factory three miles from the site and placed over the course of ten days. Once solar carports are installed at the parking lot, the property is predicted to generate as much energy as it consumes annually.

The building greets the street with a strong graphic character defined by a custom perforated and faceted weathering steel rainscreen, set within a generous native landscape bordering an urban wetland. The massing is split in two, with bridge circulation framing a visual link to a broad courtyard and wetlands beyond.

The ground level is dedicated to resident and service uses, including a flexible community room with full-height glazing on two sides. The verdant yard offers a community patio, communal vegetable garden, universal play area, and dog run. A low-profile fence preserves visual connection to the abutting creek, including views of grazing goats.

Three levels of homes are served by open-air circulation. In keeping with feng shui principles, homes along the building facade are oriented away from the facing cemetery, with south-facing windows shielded from late afternoon sun by extended vertical fins.