The Charles

The Charles

The Charles is located in Buckhead, Atlanta, and is situated where Paces Ferry, Roswell, and Peachtree roads intersect, creating a complex, triangular site. The design team embraced these site constraints to inform the unique and dynamic qualities of the building

The 18-story tower features 56 luxury condominium units and ground-floor retail and office space. The design creates a singular image and living experience that changes by orientation and view, culminating in a signature staggered balcony profile on the Peachtree Road approach.

By creating seamless interior to exterior living, every unit is afforded spectacular skyline views of Buckhead, Midtown, and downtown Atlanta in multiple directions. The building rethinks the very nature of luxury urban living on one of the most prominent sites in Atlanta.

The challenges for The Charles arise from the site geometry, urban edge conditions, and views to the larger surrounding context.

While ultimately becoming inspiration for the dynamic, angular design, the triangular site also presented a difficult set of challenges to the project. Two of the three sides of the site are bordered by Peachtree Road and East Paces Ferry Road. The design team recognized very early in the design process that the building would need to respond to both significant urban conditions with active ground floor uses. This meant that all the service and access would need to be accommodated on Boling Way. Furthermore, the small triangular footprint meant that the parking had to be above the ground floor active uses and access would be difficult. The solution was to design a series of straight and curved vehicular ramps through the ground floor service spaces and residential lobby. With parking high above the streetscape, this allowed the design team to create a decorative screening device for the parking structure that enhances the dynamic design aesthetic without interfering with the active uses at ground level.

Up in the residential tower, the challenge was to blur the boundaries between indoor/outdoor living while maximizing views for each unit. The initial concept was to provide each residential unit with a corner condition. With five units per floor, the design team knew the geometry would have to be manipulated from the simple four-square diagram. The resulting geometry reflects the angular nature of the site and allows each unit to benefit from a corner condition. Views were confirmed with multiple drone flights prior to design completion. Every unit has a large terrace that takes advantage of the corner condition with large Nanawall folding glass walls that allow the residents to extend their living space into the outdoor terrace.