Title: The Cabbagetown Connect
Location of Proejct: Atlanta, Georgia
Project Completion Date: N/A
Firm Name:

Short Description: The Cabbagetown Connect seeks to provide affordable and efficient housing within the historic downtown Atlanta. It utilizes environmental passive technology to offset costs and provide comfortability to the residents. Additionally, this project took careful consideration to existing context and audience, in order to provide the most intelligent and aesthetically appealing architecture.

Architect's Statement: Located on the West side of Atlanta, GA, in a temperate climate, a community dug its roots along the railroad track, and produced cotton. The Fulton County Cotton Mill housed and provided economic means for the entire community of Cabbagetown. Following the companies demise, the workers were soon displaced, economically unable to compete in Atlanta, and were uneducated: everything was provided to them by the mill. The inevitable gentrification of the factory lead to the privatized and fenced off mill area. Prices soared and soon any remanence of the mill workers were gone. The large and expensive lofts eventually isolated themselves from the predominantly residential
Cabbagetown.

Tasked with affordable housing, as called for by “One Atlanta,” (calling for 20,000 new units of affordable housing in Atlanta, by 2026) this site became a perfect place for intervention. Located at the northern end of the Fulton Cotton Mill, the site was a perfect place for efficient passive systems given its orientation. Furthermore, the site backed up to a decommissioned CSX rail hub. This potential was the catalyst the Cotton Mill needed. The redesign of the rail hub incorporates a complete street boulevard, remaining CSX lines for transportation, and a local MARTA line. Therefore, with the task of affordable housing, the site become a perfect place to integrate an intervention of affordable housing and public transportation, with an enclosed, yet historically rich, complex.

The Cabbagetown Connect looks to harmoniously unite an expensive, isolated community, with a smaller entwined community. Thus the building works to create comfortable, sustainable, affordable housing units, within a historically contextualized site. Additionally, it serves to bridge the connection between the surrounding residential housing through a busy street front, into the culturally rich Fulton County Cotton Mill. The solution is done through careful analysis and extensive research. The answer to the affordability boiled down to two major characteristics: systems, and program. This building manages to incorporate passive methods of heating and cooling, water collection, and lighting at the sake of keeping the building affordable.

Moreover, the building utilizes unique methods of program to create an individual community, amongst two other, distinct, socio-economic groups. The program incorporates collective shared spaces to decrease costs, and increase social interactions within the building—places such as a community kitchen and laundry rooms. It also houses both hostel units, and hotel units, to sew the gap of economic groups; this coincides with affordability through time. Additionally, WeWork spaces are available to all who live and occupy the units. This too ensures affordability by decreasing transportation costs of occupants, even though public transportation offers more affordable options than personal cars. Finally, the public ground floor offers artisan booths for local artists to occupy the building and engage community further. This, along with retail, offer revenue to the building: increasing affordability. This public realm offers a great deal of flexibility as well: to house farmers markets and public garden. All this, to ensure affordability, to all.