ABSTRACT
The successful rehabilitation of a vandalized, crime-ridden, high-rise housing project in San Francisco ("The Pink Palace") involved a remarkable degree of collaboration by the design team and the application of research-based design guidelines to the design process (Canty, 1985; Marquis, 1988). The author had the role of programming consultant. Because the time allotted to the design process was brief, she provided input to the team by translating relevant research findings and guidelines as they might pertain to the rehabilitated building, which was planned for elderly public housing tenants. Once the building was occupied, she conducted a postoccupancy evaluation of the building with architecture students. The results of this survey indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the building, and considerable use of most of the social and recreational spaces that were added (lounge, sun room, foyer, garden-courtyards, and so on). A few notable failures included social rooms that were not used because they were out of the way (at the top of the building). The building has won a number of design awards and is the housing scheme of choice for elderly public housing tenants in San Francisco.
