This family therapeutic services center is an adaptive reuse of a light-industrial building east of downtown Los Angeles, and presents a beacon of safety and security to a chronically underserved local population.

In our project an architectural language of diffuse glazing, screens, color and lighting plays against the robust existing brick and bowstring truss shell, creating an environment distinct from the surrounding neighborhood. Safety and accessibility concerns dictate a multi-step identification and entry process that employs this scheme of color and light as a gentle wayfinding system.

Para Los Niños has been a vital presence in the lives of working families for over a generation. A new preschool and bold signage join with this family center to form a city block of wraparound services. Together they represent a powerful reinvestment in the neighborhood, demonstrating the promise to provide critically needed services – and beauty – to an underserved population.