The Rayen Street Apartments, completed in early 2009 is a low income multi-family housing project by A Community of Friends located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, CA. The building, designed by Richard Barron Architects, forms an envelope around a large, existing Ficus elastica (Rubber Tree) in the center of the site which was deemed valuable and worth saving. The tree was evaluated by an arborist and protected throughout construction and serves as a focal point for the generous central courtyard as well as providing valuable shade in the hot interior valley.

 

Another smaller courtyard features a California Live Oak and associated native shrubs and groundcovers along with benches and balconies to create a native sanctuary.

 

The landscape combines the use of native and other water conserving plants with many of the newer techniques for stormwater capture on-site using interlocking pavers on sand and a series of underground dry wells below the parking area to divert stormwater from the roof drains into the subsurface groundwater for recharge.