Arch Tour Fest: Children’s Institute’s “Building on Success”

Image Credit: Oltmans Construction Co.

Arch Tour Fest: Children’s Institute’s “Building on Success”

Additional information regarding the tour and check-in process will be emailed directly to registrants 24 hours before the event. Once you have confirmed your attendance AIA will be contacting you to confirm the number in your party, menu, any special food allergies and price, if you would like to attend the tasting menu after the dinner.

Frank Gehry said it best: “If you do it right, a building can tell a kid we love you.”

This unique opportunity for AIALA participants to tour Children’s Institute’s (CII) “Building on Success” in Watts is a chance to see how Frank Gehry’s design impacts communities where lack of investment and racist policies limit opportunity and deepen health inequity. But you won’t see any room in this building labeled for “Therapy,” because of the stigma that persists in our communities around receiving mental health care, but also because every space is multi-purpose. It feels playful and welcoming, yet uncluttered and adaptable to many different purposes, from one-on-one counseling sessions to neighborhood meetings and workshops. Because someone could be coming into this building for a resume writing workshop or a music lesson, there is no shame in coming here for a counseling session. CII offers a range of programs meant to positively impact multiple generations in a family, supporting them in achieving educational success and emotional well-being which we know build pathways to economic mobility. We partner with community organizations, local leaders, and schools to build networks of care that respond to local needs and create more trauma-informed spaces like these. And when these networks partner with great design, it helps to increase a community’s capacity for healing and resilience.

Design Architect:  Gehry Partners, LLP
Frank Gehry (Design Partner), Meaghan Lloyd (Partner, Chief of Staff), Laurence Tighe (Project Partner), Sam Gehry (Project Designer), Thomas Kim (Project Architect), Design team: Precious Aiyeloja, Aaron Ryan, Tyler McMartin, Jack Bian

Architect of Record: Chait Co – Michael Chait (Principal), Erik Link (Project Manager), Jonathan Brown (Project Architect)

Construction: Oltmans Construction Co.

Project Management: Bottega Management Group – Leonard Madson

Structural Engineer: Workpoint Engineering – Ben Varela, Ben John, Katie Chuh

Mechanical & Plumbing: Schnackel Engineering – Jason Seymour

Civil Engineer: Mollenhauer Group – Thomas Tran

Lighting Design: HLB lighting – Teal Brogden, Guy Smith, Michelle Murray

Landscape Architect: Elysian Landscapes – Judy Kameon, Dana Bauer

Acoustic Design: Newson Brown Acoustics – Michael Brown, Ben Toews

Tour Led By:

Catherine Atack – Chief Development Officer, Children’s Institute

Catherine Atack joined CII in January 2017. Catherine’s professional background spans both nonprofit and for-profit experience. Prior to joining CII, she was the Director of Development for United Friends of the Children for over six years, a Los Angeles nonprofit organization serving current and former foster youth in education and housing programs throughout Los Angeles County. Before relocating to Los Angeles in 2010, Catherine was the Executive Director of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, an area she called home for ten years before relocating to a warmer climate. Catherine has also worked extensively in the field of marketing and advertising at agencies in Reno, Nevada, New York City and in her home country of the United Kingdom.

and

Deborah Riddle – Sr. Community Relations Specialist, Children’s Institute

Learning Objectives:

1.  Participants will understand the how multi-purpose design can create space for providing critical resources to families as well as opportunity for community collaboration.
2.  Participants will understand how the “Building on Success” supports Children’s Institute’s two-generation model of child, family and community interventions.
3.  Participants will see that the community is the context of a building’s design and the importance of appropriate scaling, color, light and layout as contributors to the building’s overall success within that context.
4.  Participants will learn that while Children’s Institute has been providing counseling and family supportive services in Watts since 2007, special efforts in building trust and collaboration within the Watts community was an essential component to bringing this project to fruition.

NOTE: Please avoid parking in front of our residential neighbors.