Handel Architects' adaptive reuse of a former dental school building into a luxury residential building called The Pacific has been honored with a 2019 Design Award from SARANY!

The original building had essentially been built like a hospital, with high ceilings and large floorplates, which translated well to a luxury residential building: the floor plates, originally designed for heavy dental equipment, allow the units to incorporate the existing 12’ high floor-to-floor span, creating high ceilings and gracious interior living spaces throughout the project.

At the building’s roof, the team kept the outline of an existing two-story mechanical penthouse but converted it into four large, residential duplex penthouses, each with expansive private terraces. On the terrace level, an intimate indoor-outdoor owner’s lounge serves all the residences.

The heavy precast concrete façade was removed and replaced with a window wall system composed of champagne colored metal panels and floor-to-ceiling glass. Window openings were made much larger, such that they are now the dominant feature in the façade. Additionally, triangular bays that are as tall as the windows extend past the building face, so that each apartment can look down onto the streetscape below. These “glass apertures” create a strong geometric presence and textural quality, while breaking up the building’s mass.

The project also included the design of ten townhomes on an adjacent surface parking lot.

Congratulations to everyone involved!