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Berkeley Station is the first built project from Brooks + Scarpa’s NEST toolkit. This prefabricated modular system aims to balance construction speed and economy and provide dignified living spaces. The project’s three-dimensional modules were hoisted and stacked in just a few days, demonstrating how a new generation of prefabricated technology can shorten the construction cycle, reduce costs, and respond to urgent housing needs without sacrificing design quality.
▼Project video, project video
Berkeley Station is the first built project from Brooks + Scarpa’s NEST Toolkit, a prefabricated modular system designed to deliver dignified housing with speed and economy. In just a matter of days, the project’s volumetric modules were craned into place and stacked, demonstrating how next-generation prefabrication can reduce construction timelines, lower costs, and respond to urgent housing needs without sacrificing design excellence.
▼Aerial rear view of the building © TBD
▼Aerial view of the project, Setback and surrounding neighborhood © TBD
▼Aerial view of the narrow site © TBD
▼Street-facing elevation © TBD
▼Building street view, street view of the building © TBD
This four-story, 13-home community provides supportive transitional housing for youth in the transition to adulthood, as well as permanent housing for low-income families. Facing the long, narrow and irregularly shaped plot, the design uses a single-sided arrangement of the circulation space of the residences, and carefully arranges ventilation corridors to bring natural light and cross ventilation into each residence. This creates an open and transparent living environment, getting rid of the cramped feeling caused by the compact site.
The four-story, 13-unit community provides supportive transitional housing for transition-aged youth alongside permanent residences for low-income families. Despite the challenges of a narrow, irregular lot, the design leverages single-loaded circulation and carefully placed breezeways to bring natural light and cross-ventilation into every home. The result is housing that feels open and airy, not constrained by its compact site.
▼Open-air access galleries © TBD
▼Corridor, corridor © TBD
▼Side elevation and window boxes © TBD
▼Facade opening detail, Facade opening detail © TBD
Physically, the building mediates between the scale of Santa Monica Boulevard and the smaller scale residential blocks to the north. The front setback along Berkeley Street creates welcoming public terraces and sunshades, while the taller volume is positioned closer to the rear lane. Low-saturation blue cement boards, galvanized metal details, window sill flower boxes and landscape planting pools jointly shape the facade, giving the building a textured appearance and downplaying its prefabricated character.
Formally, the building mediates between the scale of Santa Monica Boulevard and the smaller residential neighborhood to the north. A stepped-back frontage creates a welcoming communal terrace and shade trellis along Berkeley Street, while the taller massing is tucked toward the alley. Muted blue cement board panels, galvanized metal details, window boxes, and landscaped planters articulate the façade, giving the building a tactile presence that belies its prefabricated origins.
▼Shade trellis and communal terrace © TBD
▼Communal spaces beneath the trellis © TBD
Environmental responsibility is at the heart of the project. Berkeley Station is designed to achieve at least LEED Gold level and strive for Platinum level. It adopts passive design strategies to reduce energy demand and reserves space on the roof for future installation of solar arrays. Landscaped outdoor areas, public spaces and careful shading expand the social and environmental value of the building, making it both a place to live and a resource for the community.
Environmental stewardship is central to the project. Designed to achieve at least LEED Gold, with a goal of LEED Platinum, Berkeley Station employs passive design strategies to reduce energy demand and reserves roof area for future solar arrays. Landscaped outdoor areas, community spaces, and thoughtful shading elements extend the building’s social and environmental performance, reinforcing its role as both a home and a neighborhood asset.
▼Looking up at the trellis © TBD
▼Facade panels and planting, Facade panels and planting © TBD
The project is funded in part by a Los Angeles County Housing Innovation Challenge grant. Berkeley Station is not only a residential project, but also an adaptable demonstration of how the NEST toolkit can be applied to small urban sites throughout Los Angeles. By combining replicable modular technology with site-specific design, the project explores a path to affordable housing that is fast, sustainable and of architectural quality.
Funded in part by LA County’s Housing Innovation Challenge Grant, Berkeley Station is more than a housing project: it is a test-fit demonstration of how the NEST Toolkit can be tailored to small urban lots across Los Angeles. By combining replicable modular technology with site-specific design, the project charts a path toward delivering more affordable housing quickly, sustainably, and with architectural distinction.
▼Sustainable and architecturally quality affordable housing,
more affordable housing quickly, sustainably © TBD
▼Ground floor plan © Brooks + Scarpa
▼Second floor plan © Brooks + Scarpa
▼Third floor plan © Brooks + Scarpa
▼Fourth floor plan © Brooks + Scarpa
Project name: Berkeley Station
Location: 1342 Berkeley St, Santa Monica, California, United States
Floor area: Approximately 9,500 square feet (approximately 883 square meters)
Number of dwellings: 13 one-bedroom dwellings
Number of layers: 4 layers
Completion year: 2026
Architecture and Landscape Design: Brooks + Scarpa
Project Architect/Responsible Partner: Angela Brooks, FAIA
Chief Designer/Partner: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA
Project Manager: Fui Srivikorn
Team: Micaela Danko, Jeffrey Huber (FAIA), Yimin Wu, Arty Vartanyan, Eric Mosher, Yeawon Min
Structural Engineering and Civil Engineering: Labib Funk + Associates
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering: IDiaz Design, Inc.
Prefabricated Design: PlantPrefab
Project: Berkeley Station
Location: 1342 Berkeley St, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA
Total square footage: approximately 9,500 sq. ft. (883 m²)
Units: 13 one-bedroom units
Stories: 4
Completed: 2026
Architecture and landscape: Brooks + Scarpa
Project Architect / Principal-in-Charge: Angela Brooks, FAIA
Lead Designer/Principal: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA
Project Manager: Fui Srivikorn
Team: Micaela Danko, Jeffrey Huber, FAIA, Yimin Wu, Arty Vartanyan, Eric Mosher, Yeawon Min
Structural and Civil Engineering: Labib Funk + Associates
MEP Engineering: IDiaz Design, Inc.
Prefab Design: PlantPrefab
Photography: To be confirmed by the contributor
Office address: 3929 W. 139th Street, Hawthorne, CA 90250
Tel: 323-596-4700
Website/Website: brooksscarpa.com
Email: marketing@brooksscarpa.com
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