Arch Tour Fest: Isla Intersections

Image Credit: Here and Now Agency

Arch Tour Fest: Isla Intersections

Additional information regarding the tour and check-in process will be emailed directly to registrants 24 hours before the event. 

This is a FREE event. Protective gear will be required and provided. If you would like to bring your own gear, please do.

Event Supporter:

Tour Organizer: Holos Communities

Isla Intersections is a 54-unit permanent supportive housing development that features unconventional shipping container construction and the transformation of a through-street into a pedestrian-focused shared street/paseo.

During this tour, Holos Communities Director of Housing Development, Audrey Peterson, and Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects Founder and Design Principal, Lorcan O’Herlihy, will discuss how the project concept – permanent supportive housing and public space – impacted the design of the site. The team will discuss code and permitting requirements to transition a typical street into a shared street, the mechanics of shipping container construction, and distinctive sustainability features of the project.

The session will also address considerations taken for a project built within such close proximity to a freeway, including the specific landscaping choices for the project and other features such as air filters within the building.

Building Credits: 

Architect: Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

General Contractor: Geis Construction

Tour Led By:

Audrey Peterson, Director of Housing Development, Holos Communities

As the Director of Housing Development Audrey oversees all aspects of housing development. She initiates joint ventures on projects as well as partnerships with service providers, general contractors, architectural firms, and new collaborators. During her time at CBH she has developed more than 450 permanent supportive or affordable homes for Los Angeles. Her projects have varied between both 4% and 9% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) structures, non-LIHTC structures, and funds from federal, state, county, city, philanthropic, and traditional loan sources. Before joining CBH, Ms. Peterson worked in a midsize architecture firm in New Orleans and spent time studying sustainable communities in Cape Town. 

Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA – Founder and Design Principal of LOHA

Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA, founder and design principal of LOHA, seeks opportunities to engage with the ever-changing complexities of the urban landscape, while embracing architecture as a catalyst of change. Since founding his firm in 1994, his work has been guided by a conscious understanding that architecture operates within a layered context of political, developmental, environmental, and social structures. With offices in Los Angeles and Detroit, his firm has built over 100 projects across three continents. The diverse work ranges from art galleries, bus shelters, and large-scale neighborhood studies, to large mixed-use developments, affordable housing projects, and university residential complexes. Each project exhibits Lorcan’s belief that artistry and social connectivity are key to building vibrant spaces that elevate the human condition.

Learning Objectives:

1. Summarize the permitting process for transitioning a through-street into a pedestrian-focused “shared street”, including the various agency approvals required.
2. Discuss the collaboration efforts that take place between developer, design team, public agencies, and engineering consultants during the schematic design phase through construction for a shipping container housing project
3. Identify sustainability and public health features used in a project to create a livable environment for future residents and the larger community despite close proximity to a freeway.
4. Describe the mechanical systems used to construct a shipping container housing project.