As marginalized urban areas transition into desirable neighborhoods, seemingly problematic contextual elements like adjacent vacant land and elevated railroads can be treated as productive design constraints. This 6-unit apartment building shifts program to the long edge of a narrow site along the busy Frankford-Market elevated Blue Line in East Kensington, creating an interior façade facing an adjacent vacant parcel. With a roofline that connects the dots of a quirky zoning envelope, the elevation juxtaposes housing above with a storefront tucked underneath the El.

 

*Project by Tyler at ISA