The 7West project started on a site that was nothing more than a nondescript cinder-block warehouse overgrown with foliage and some gravel. While no development site is perfect, this parcel had some very special challenges due to its triangular shape and the one-way nature of the streets that bring you to the project, along with the abandoned node of 6th Street that fronted the lot. The goal was to balance the density along with automobile access and provide usable green space. Shoehorning in even one too many homes would destroy the long term enjoyment for the residents and create ingress/egress issues. When the project was done and complete, everyone involved was determined to have built something that would resonate for a long time and that would positively impact Manchester and the Richmond skyline.
Much of the inspiration for 7West came from a biking expedition that the project developer Jeremy Connell took to the Netherlands. The vertical nature of the properties there along with plentiful glass is a hallmark of Danish urban residential design while it also makes for intelligent land use and walkability. With that direction in mind, architect Mario DiMarco took on the challenge of marrying a uniquely shaped building site located in an industrial warehouse district with modern European styling. The final results are a harmonious balance of appropriate scale and massing from the industrial history of Manchester with an elegant material pallet and finishing elements that are equally powerful, simple and tastefully contemporary.