For those experiencing homelessness, Bridge Housing fills a critical transitional space between life on the streets and permanent housing.  In collaboration between District 3 LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office and LA Family Housing (LAFH), a successful model of complimentary
public/private partnership was applied to the Canoga Park Bridge Housing (shelter), ‘The Willows.’  In contrast to the majority of emergency shelters, where temporary facilities and tent structures are installed on any stretch of vacant or surplus land, The Willows project sets a new precedent of the adaptive re-use of an existing County-owned building for a permanent facility.  Set within a transitional intersection of light-industrial and residential zones, the unassuming shelter is a catalyst for positive change in people's’ lives and its urban environment.

Building on our client’s Guiding Principles for developing housing that is supportive and service-enriched, this project focuses on empathy as a design principle embodying LAFH’s core tenet in outreach and service delivery.  The investment in permanent facilities further demonstrates their commitment to providing personal dignity through stability, care and quality in a recuperative and empowering environment.

In addition to providing for the program’s many operational and functional requirements, the building design supports LAFHs mission focus on removing barriers to permanent housing.  Chief among these is the blistering psychological trauma of homelessness, and its severe negative impact on the individual’s identity and self-esteem.  Amplifying elements of trauma-informed and biophilic design, the building actively provides the residents an engaging and multi-sensory healing environment which balances privacy and personal space with opportunities of choice for levels of socialization.

Principles of Trauma Informed Design
Privacy - private sleeping areas, personal
storage, private shower and dressing room area Opportunity for Choice - control over degrees of socialization
Safe Space - open sightlines, supportive service-enriched
Personal Dignity - quality of materials and
design

Elements of Biophilic Design
Direct and indirect connection to nature Natural daylight
Natural ventilation
Indoor/Outdoor connection
S ensory richness, motion, serendipity Resilience, prospect and refuge Accommodation of support animals