Hugo Multi Family Townhomes

This small site originally contained a tiny old fisherman’s shack from a long gone tuna fleet and cannery era. This is a four unit infill project in an older neighborhood in transition near the San Diego harbor. It is an excellent example of how a remarkable amount of living space can be created on a small lot (50’ x 100’) with privacy and spaciousness for each unit.

Each unit is stacked vertically, arranged like a ranch house on edge; garage (in our case basement garage) / studio, bedrooms, living / kitchen, and yard (in our case, a roof deck/ yard). The goal of the project was to re-create affordable homes in a neighborhood where land values have risen far beyond the typical single family home budget. The constraints of this site allow for a usable building area for each unit of 20’ x 40’. Each town home has a separate two car garage, two bedrooms, an 800 square foot open living/kitchen/dining area, and a large roof deck. The form of the building expresses the four units in a scale contextual to the evolving neighborhood while opening up to the views of the harbor. A part of the old shack wall has now been repurposed as an art piece, and a reminder of the former neighborhood.