The Children’s Institute (CII) in Los Angeles will open a 200,000-sf campus designed by Frank Gehry this summer. The new development will provide CII with its first purpose-built home in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood, and is designed to host programs and offer resources for this economically disadvantaged community.
CII has been a dedicated non-profit organization for 116 years, and has worked with the Watts Community since 2007. They have partnered with families, as well as other community organizations, to provide services like counseling and workshops. This campus at Success Avenue and East 102nd Street in South LA will centralize Children’s Institute’s operations in the area.
Gehry’s design aims to downplay the building’s mass, while showcasing the important community work happening inside. The facade is broken down to relate to the adjacent single-family residences using simple interlocking volumes made of plaster and corrugated metal cladding. The priority was to create a welcoming building, one that was scaled appropriately to the surrounding neighborhood and one that feels approachable.
The interior is full of natural light from the large windows and the many skylights throughout. Double-height public spaces are scaled to accommodate larger community gatherings, while office areas are open to the central atrium below on the second floor. A series of small group and individual therapy rooms are located off the atrium, each with large windows to fill the space with natural light.
Designed For the Community
The Watts campus was intentionally designed to make a connection between CII and the Watts community. The building operates both as a community center and a therapy center, and offers space for neighborhood meetings and events. The center will be home to a number of outreach programs that directly respond to the issues within the community, including the Watts Gang Task Force and the LAPD Community Safety Partnership. Programs include:
- Toddler socialization
- Individual and group counseling
- Youth development
- Parenting workshops
- Workforce development/employment support
- Project fatherhood sessions
“The new Watts campus is a beautiful symbol of Children’s Institute’s ongoing commitment to our city and this neighborhood in particular,” said Los Angeles Police Department Captain and Children’s Institute Trustee Emada Tingirides. “I know that my patrol officers that work in the community of Watts have a partner as we try to address some of the concerns, trauma and violence in the community. Children’s Institute continues to be an unwavering partner to Watts families year after year.”
The Children’s Institute has planned a Community Celebration on June 25 at the new Watts Campus to welcome families to enjoy a day of performances and activities.
Building Team:
Owner and developer: CII
Architect of Record: Chait & Company
Design architect: Gehry Partners, LLP
MEP engineer: Schnackel Engineers
Structural engineer: Workpoint Engineering
Landscape Architect: Elysian Landscapes
General contractor/construction manager: Oltmans Construction Co.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, CH2M Hill, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest federal government design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Federal Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Manhattan's Pier 57 to be transformed into cultural center, small business incubator, and public park as part of $210 million redevelopment plan
LOT-EK, Beyer Blinder Belle, and West 8 have been selected as the design team for Hudson River Park’s Pier 57 at 15th Street and the Hudson River as part of the development group led by New York-based real estate developer YoungWoo & Associates. The 375,000 square foot vacant, former passenger ship terminal will be transformed into a cultural center, small business incubator, and public park, including a rooftop venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Brunswick, Maine
Since its founding in 1794, when what is now the state of Maine was still part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bowdoin College has played a pivotal role in the educational and cultural life of Maine. Contributing to that role for more than a century has been the Walker Art Building, an 1894 McKim, Mead & White-designed structure and home to the college’s Museum of Art.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler among eight teams named finalists in 'classroom of the future' design competition
Eight teams were recognized today as finalists of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom. Finalists submitted designs ranging from an outdoor classroom for children in inner-city Chicago, learning spaces for the children of salt pan workers in India, safe spaces for youth in Bogota, Colombia and a bamboo classroom in the Himalayan mountains.
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
Thom Mayne unveils 'floating cube' design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas
Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and leaders from the Museum of Nature & Science unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park. Groundbreaking on the approximately $185 million project will be held later this fall, and the Museum is expected to open by early 2013.
| Aug 11, 2010
Theater Renovation—A First-Class Production
In 1985, the city of San Diego ordered the historic Balboa Theatre, its beleaguered performing arts center, to be shuttered due to seismic safety concerns. It would take another two decades to restore the landmark building.
