AMISTAD YOUTH CRISIS SHELTER

This image: Computer study used to model solar shading at windows

Bernalillo County sponsored this initiative to design a home for youth who are unable for various reasons to live with their families.

The design primarily focuses on group living as a social therapeutic asset.  A generous and light-filled main space ties kitchen, dining, and living spaces together.  A broad sheltered patio just outside provides additional interactive space adjacent to a landscaped courtyard surrounded by an adobe wall.

Rather than institutional metal windows and hard surfaces, we enriched the palette with wood windows and trim and soft carpeted benches for relaxation, raising expectations and allowing the residents to feel respect for their surroundings and gain self-respect.  The architecture became a positive vehicle for improving behavior in a calming dignified manner.