Piedmont Avenue Apartments

Behind the lush trees along Piedmont Avenue sat a featureless and foreboding apartment building. Our task: transform this sad 1960s building into a friendly, attractive, safe and accessible home for the student population.

The original building design enclosed the courtyard behind a high slumpstone wall with inaccessible steps leading to a bare “prison-yard” court within. To mitigate these conditions, we removed the wall and replaced it with a series of screens and a new entry sequence, providing security, visibility and improved accessibility.

The balcony rails and stair towers were opened up to allow natural light and airflow into circulation areas.

Finally, the central tower was adorned with a striking mural by artist Nikki McClure, offering organic, soft lines in contrast to the orthogonal building forms and fostering a vibrant sense of place.