Since our team’s main goal for Songbird Apartments was growing a community, we set back Songbird’s footprint and overall scale, designing the form to step down and meet the existing neighborhood without feeling out of place. Vibrant neighborhoods rely on areas for people to gather and socialize. Ground-floor residences have individual stoops, small seating areas, and exterior front doors. The community room faces the lively North Williams Avenue, with its busy bike corridor and pedestrian life, connecting residents to the neighborhood. A horseshoe-shaped landscaped courtyard parallels Williams, drawing people to a common outdoor barbecue area—just the right amount of visibility and privacy. Opportunities to meet, to catch up with friends and family, are everywhere. Beneath the community room’s windows, people can relax together on benches. Centrally placed elevators, the laundry room, and close-by seating areas encourage chance encounters while helping residents keep an eye on the playground. And to bolster Songbird’s strong relationship between interior and exterior space, we placed the communal kitchen near the outdoor barbecue area. We want people to know they’re connected. We also want them to feel safe. Songbird’s two entry points—one via the parking area and the main lobby off North Williams Avenue—maintain clear visual connections. Songbird’s signature exterior detail, a wood-tone installation, expresses the homey, welcoming feel that Eliot’s residents identified as essential during BRIDGE’s community outreach meetings; pre-finished lap siding expresses this sense of relaxed intimacy even further. Indoors, generously sized windows bring ample daylight into residents’ living areas. Because people want homes that are private and quiet, we took special care choosing Songbird’s interior framing and acoustic details. All these intentional details aim at one outcome: Bringing attainable, beautiful housing to people who need it most.

As its name implies, Songbird’s interior design is inspired by the musical rhythm and vibrancy of jazz. We asked local artists to create work that brings these concepts to life. We also asked the community, through a survey, to share what design elements they wanted. Thanks to their feedback, we developed a palette of bright colors that create rhythm and jooyful energy in Songbird’s community spaces. We used color as wayfinding, too, with three accent colors helping visitors orient themselves throughout. A wood-slat ceiling with playful color accents brings a familiar warmth of material and is a vibrant element within the lobby and community room spaces, welcoming visitors and residents. In Songbird’s elevator lobbies, we referenced this wood again, this time as a wall feature that frames the wayfinding accent color on each floor. To spark active togetherness among everyone working and living here, the community room directly connects to the common outdoor space, bringing flow and circulation to these spaces. And yet this room is designed for more than just socializing. The community service office, whose staff members help residents find jobs, coach life skills, and offer similar support, operates directly from the community room. Like people everywhere, Songbird’s residents deserve to be uplifted and feel comfort in their home. Along with access to affordable, attainable housing, this community brings quality materials and design elements that express pride and love of place at Songbird.