18TH STREET: Virginia Beach, Va

Located four blocks inland from “The Strip," this mixed-use project was to be the first high density structure of its kind under the new Virginia Beach master plan.  The clients intended to relocate their nearby business to the street side of the site and establish two residential units behind.  Respecting the low-scale character of the neighborhood, a unique two story scheme was developed as a new urban prototype for the area.  Recognizing the harshness of a costal environment, concrete, concrete block, and fiberglass windows were selected.  The sides of the scheme are surrounded by six-foot high masonry walls within which a four-foot high plinth elevates the ground floor in order to protect the residential units from flooding. The garages at the rear and the street-front business form “bookends” to complete protection of the property.