Transitional housing for single mothers

Aishwarya Yadavally

PROPOSAL

Los Angeles has a lot of abandoned buildings and parking garages and giving a new purpose to these structures by housing single mothers is my proposal for this project. The concept of my design is informed by the urban location and division of zoning of programs within my site. Addressing the main concerns and needs of the women living in this space and designing based on their needs defines my narrative where the aesthetics become a part of the function.

SITE SELECTION

The site I chose is an abandoned parking garage next to the Hawthorne plaza in Hawthorne city, LA. According to the census 37% of the households in Hawthorne are run by single mothers which is one of the highest in LA county.

The site is surrounded by commercial, residential and mixed use areas and also has green open parks around it which encourages community involvement and also the Hawthorne Plaza which is proposed to be revived into a shopping complex would create employment opportunities for the women living here.

The site also is well connected by public transit systems and has a high school, middle school and primary school within a five mile radius.

SITE PLAN

The site plan is zoned in a way that the residential units are pushed all the way back that faces the residential zoned area of the city. It provides these women with a sense of home while also making them feel safe within the units. The site is further zoned into a community space and a shared community space. A shared community space is shared by all the residents with access to laundry, libraries and computer rooms.

The heart of the design and site is in the central courtyard that acts as a green space with community kitchen and day care located in it.

Space for a shop, coffee shop, case worker space and training rooms are all the way in the front considering they would be accessible by people coming from outside.

The site plan is zoned in a way that the residential units are pushed all the way back that faces the residential zoned area of the city. It provides these women with a sense of home while also making them feel safe within the units. The site is further zoned into a community space and a shared community space. A shared community space is shared by all the residents with access to laundry, libraries and computer rooms.

The heart of the design and site is in the central courtyard that acts as a green space with community kitchen and day care located in it.

Space for a shop, coffee shop, case worker space and training rooms are all the way in the front considering they would be accessible by people coming from outside.

FLOOR PLANS

The structures houses studio, 1,2&3 bedroom apartments along with co living spaces. It also is zoned into community space with the central courtyard which houses a community kitchen, day care program and green spaces. It also houses a shared community space along with space for case workers, training rooms and a shop. Individual terrace gardens are provided for organic farming that would give the women an opportunity to engage in community activities outside of the space and also earn money by selling the produce in the open spaces provided within the site.

ELEVATIONS

The garage’s existing elevation was concrete and stone cladding which I retained in the current design that represents the brutalist nature of the world the women came from. The inner courtyard space is the heart of my design that showcases a pavilion shaped as wings of a falcon which symbolically represents resilience and the desire to fly and break barriers.