The Six Recognized by American Institute of Architects for Excellence in Design

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Skid Row Housing Trust’s The Six, a permanent supportive housing property designed by Brooks + Scarpa for formerly homeless individuals and veterans in MacArthur Park, receives the 2017 Institute Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) at the AIA Conference on Architecture in Orlando, FL today. The Institute Honor Awards are AIA’s highest recognition for excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Selected from roughly 700 submissions, The Six is one of 23 recipients located throughout the world that are being honored this year. It is the only project selected in Southern California.

The Six will also receive a 2017 AIA Housing Design Award, which celebrates homes that combine beauty, safety, and sustainability. The Six is specifically recognized for affordable housing design that meets the specialized needs of residents. “The Six was designed from the ground up to facilitate healing and community both within and beyond the building’s walls,” said Mike Alvidrez, CEO of Skid Row Housing Trust.

The Six offers 52 beautiful, safe, and supportive homes to individuals who have experienced homelessness, with 18 of them set aside specifically for veterans. In the military, “got your six” means “I’ve got your back.” Brooks + Scarpa’s innovative design thoughtfully balances privacy with opportunities to connect with the community. The Six has onsite supportive services and 24-hour property management on the ground floor, and a spacious courtyard and community rooms on the second floor that offer peaceful respite and space for social gatherings. A bridge on the fifth floor spans the front of the courtyard, a gesture that helps to bring the scale of the building down to a more pedestrian level, and heightens the interior-exterior connectivity of the courtyard and streetscape. Incorporating energy-efficiency measures that exceed standard practice, including passive design strategies that maximize natural light and airflow, The Six received LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Located in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, The Six is a striking addition to a neighborhood that has one of highest population densities the United States. It is an example of the innovative projects Measure HHH could help fund throughout the City of Los Angeles. “We intentionally design our buildings so that they stand out as iconic, community-serving, architectural landmarks,” said Dana Trujillo, the Trust’s Chief Investment and Finance Officer. “We want to tell residents that they are important through the building that’s now their home.”

You can read more about The Six in Co.Design.

The Six Innovative Design The Six Innovative Design The Six Innovative Design

“Good Design Is A Basic Civil Right:” A Housing Project For Homeless Vets

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Fast Company Co.Design: Designed by Brooks +Scarpa, The Six offers housing and support services to one of the city’s most vulnerable populations.

The Six Affordable Veteran Housing

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Architect Magazine: The Six, a new affordable housing project in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park neighborhood, is, at first glance, a bit of a formal puzzle. As seen from the east, with its giant opening into a courtyard, the newest building for the Skid Row Housing Trust looks like a big white Möbius strip, a beguiling sequence of balconies, stairways, and overlooks. Yet all this aesthetic complexity serves a very important purpose: The building’s 52 below-market-rate apartments are reserved for disabled veterans, and the scheme, from local architects Brooks + Scarpa, is in fact a carefully crafted system for fostering a sense of community.

2017 AIA Awards – Architecture: The Six

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AIA: Eschewing the mold of traditional shelter models by emphasizing group and social spaces, this 42,500-square-foot housing project provides 52 units, support services, and rehab for formerly homeless disabled veterans and individuals in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park section.

Give to Lending a Hand to the Homeless in Los Angeles

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NBC Give visited Skid Row Housing Trust’s Star Apartments.  Host Laura Marano surprised staff and residents with a special gift from California Community Foundation!

Star Apartments MCHAP Award Finalist

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Star Apartments was selected as one of seven finalists for the prestigious Mies Crown Hall America’s Prize (MCHAP) 2014/2015 Awards.  The MCHAP is a biennial prize that acknowledges the best built works of architecture in the Americas. 

Star Apartments Win American Architecture Award

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Star Apartments was awarded a 2016 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum and European Centre for Architecture. The annual awards program recognizes the best new buildings designed and constructed by American architects and by international architects for buildings designed and built in the United States. The American Architecture Awards are the nation’s highest public awards given by a non-commercial, non-trade affiliated, public arts, culture and educational institution.  An exhibition of all the award winning designs will open in Athens, Greece.

In ‘By the People,’ Designing for the Underserved and Overlooked

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New York Times: “By the People: Designing a Better America,” opening on Friday at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt, taps into a rich vein of entrepreneurial beneficence. It is about the intersection of poverty, prosperity, innovation and design, and it couldn’t be timelier. If stories like the one from Chattanooga unavoidably turn out to be more complicated than any museum display can make clear, the spotlight is at least pointed in the right direction.

The Six Wins AHF Readers’ Choice Award

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We are proud to announce that Affordable Housing Finance (AHF) Readers’ Choice Awards named The Six the best Special-Needs housing development completed in 2015-2016! AHF magazine and newsletter subscribers voted on the best affordable housing developments across the nation, selecting winners in nine categories. Located in MacArthur Park, The Six has 52 apartments and studios for formerly homeless and disabled individuals, as well as onsite supportive programs to help residents achieve health and wellness. On top of being the Trust’s first development outside of Downtown Los Angeles, it is our first with permanent supportive housing set aside specifically for veterans. In the military, “got your six” means “I’ve got your back.” Designed by Brooks + Scarpa Architects to foster community and connection, The Six received LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Six

Grant Announcement: Bank of America

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Permanent supportive housing – decent, affordable, community-based housing that offers voluntary support services – has proven to be most effective at helping individuals who struggle long-term homelessness. However, Los Angeles only has enough of permanent supportive housing to help 20% of those in need. We are proud to announce that Bank of America awarded the Trust $20,000 to help us continue creating safe and stable homes for some of our most vulnerable neighbors. With the support of partners like Bank of America, we aim to develop or renovate over 1,200 units of permanent supportive housing over the next five years. “Tackling the immediate needs of our homeless neighbors who continue to struggle with access to affordable housing is important to assist them with regaining and maintaining long-term stability,” said Raul A. Anaya, Los Angeles market president, Bank of America. “By supporting nonprofits like Skid Row Housing Trust, we can strengthen our community and play a vital role in its overall economic health.”