Architect：Lehrer Architects

Location：East Compton Boulevard, Compton, CA, USA; | ;

Project Year：2020

Category：Housing

This new 3,200 SF duplex apartment will house a rotating group of 10 formerly homeless teens in South L.A.  Bearing in mind the client’s focus on “at-promise” (rather than “at-risk”) youth, and always mindful of the neighborhood context, the design team sought to bring light, open, and optimistic design to a population whose future is bright and unbounded.

The team identifies infill lots—neglected properties either unbuilt or in disrepair—and maximizes the number of buildable units on site.  By navigating the complex and sometimes contradictory regulatory frameworks in Los Angeles, the team has succeeded in finding space for the most possible people while prioritizing design excellence.

Providing safe space for teens who’ve been living on the streets.  Continuity of experience, from secure, private places; two bedrooms sharing a bath; 5 bedrooms sharing a living space; 10 teens sharing a beautifully landscaped site.  Balconies and long lines of site extending the project into the community at large.

The building and its generous stretched roof trellises capture and control the sun’s light both inside and out.  Their luminosity during the day (and lighting at night) fills the daily experience of the occupants with light and lightness.

Los Angeles’ strict budgetary and code requirements have made affordable housing nearly impossible to build, and design is rarely top of mind.  By assembling an innovative and nimble team of architects, general contractors, developers, financiers, and service providers, the East Rancho Apartments afford beauty, dignity, and design to a formerly homeless teen population.

Engaging the community from the outset, the team was able to design with local priorities in mind.  Welcoming community organizers to the site from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting, the team went well beyond the standard outreach requirements to create a project the whole community can be proud of.

Providing safe space for teens who’ve been living on the streets.  Continuity of experience, from secure, private places; two bedrooms sharing a bath; 5 bedrooms sharing a living space; 10 teens sharing a beautifully landscaped site.  Balconies and long lines of site extending the project into the community at large.