Ockert Lane

2004 Shelburne, VT
18 Affordable duplex townhouse dwellings. $2.2 M
Principal: Michael Wisniewski

The site is a gateway into the village core from the south, but also on noisy, busy Rt. 7 and we wanted to create a coherent sense of neighborhood within the site but make a gesture to the public realm along Rt. 7 to honor the gateway role this site plays in the village. We were determined to not turn our development's back on the public realm as so many recent projects have done. Create neighborhood housing in harmony with patterns of village development rather than a monolithic project.

An oval green common space at the center of the site organizes vehicular and pedestrian circulation and buildings along a coherent streetscape. Each dwelling has a private driveway and front porch reflecting the village pattern of family homes along the street. The pattern breaks along the west side to gesture to the public realm along route 7 and act as a gateway to the village core: Instead of looking at the backs of houses you see a composition of front porches over the common green. This space serves as a storm water retention basin and buffers dwellings from the noise.