Rendering vs. Reality: Mass timber apartment building at 3520 W. Marathon Street in Silver Lake

In Silver Lake, construction is complete for a first-of-its-kind multifamily residential development at 3520 W. Marathon Street.

SuperBungalows, designed and development by Los Angeles-based SuperLA, is billed as the first mass timber apartment building to be completed in Southern California. The new three-story structure features nine one- and two-bedroom apartments within its interior, as well as a rooftop deck, a front yard, and atrium gardens.

In addition to making use of a construction type which can help to sequester carbon, the project also takes steps to reduce its environmental impact by using 100 percent electric building systems, with on-site consumption largely offset by a photovoltaic system. Likewise, the building includes a 100 percent rainwater capture system which can be used for irrigating the landscaping and trees including with the new housing.

The project's name references an intention to provide a modern take on L.A.'s classic bungalow courts, featuring no shared walls, large private terraces, common garden spaces, and natural lighting and air on all sides of the building.

Larger, operable windows are included on the elevations of all homes within the building to take advantage of that natural air and light, with ceiling fans used to optimize cross ventilation.

"We are pleased to bring the first Mass-Timber multifamily project to market in Southern California," said SuperLA principal Aaron van Schaik in a statement. "This is the first step for us toward ushering in a new era of housing that prioritizes the occupant, in a building form that reduces waste, sequesters carbon, and has a greatly reduced reliance on natural resources."

SuperLA is not done with mass timber construction in Silver Lake - the firm is planning a second project with 15 apartments on an empty site at 823 Hyperion Avenue. That development is slated to begin work in approximately one year.

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• 3520 W. Marathon Street (Urbanize LA)