Los Angeles-based landscape architecture firm Orange Street Studio collaborated with Konig Eizenberg Architecture on this Platinum LEED, six-story, 98-unit, affordable housing project on the edge of Los Angeles' Skid Row to bring wellness to formerly homeless residents who struggle with mental illness and substance abuse. Called FLOR, the U-shaped area embraces the south-facing open spaces and exceptional courtyard development while taking advantage of the site, the sun, and natural breezes.

Hardscape Design

 
Wooded internal courtyards on the ground floor and a second-level terrace invite social interaction while providing a tranquil atmosphere. Vibrant green balconies, railings, and window frameworks echo the verdant nature found within. One arrives in the ground floor courtyard through a secure, gated entry. Once inside, a canopy of Camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora), artfully placed boulders, a long Ipe wood bench, and a concrete masonry unit (CMU) wall with portal windows to the street are softened with climbing vines. The hardscape floor integrates Ipe planks and exposed aggregate concrete alongside permeable paving stones, Mexican beach pebbles, and crushed gravel. The thoughtful arrangement of landscape elements and cooling shade promotes casual gathering, expressing an interplay between relaxed, natural diversity and articulated form.

Greenery and Landscape Elements
The landscape permeates multiple levels, with layers of greenery and seating strategically placed to foster indoor-outdoor flow and a strong sense of community. The lime green stairs and architectural bridges offer multiple views of the city and open spaces within. Drought-tolerant and low-maintenance plants placed throughout site are irrigated by greywater.
Utilizing cost-effective materials, reducing maintenance, and delivering a built environment on a budget was crucial to the team's success. Their respect for outdoor materials converges with wellness functions and enables residents to connect to the site and discover silence in the shade of a tree on a hot day. There are many spaces for reflection, where one can begin to process difficult feelings in natural solitude, as well as settings for social interaction.

The second-level courtyard integrates angular, raised planters and multiple Ipe benches, Strawberry Trees (Arbutus x 'Marina') and a native understory. The arrangement of these elements creates a dynamic relationship with the architectural orientations while providing active and passive open space for the residents. Textured and colored poured-in-place concrete panels add interest to the ground plane. Climbing vines cover building walls and stairway railings, heightening the sense that nature is present and alive. On the sixth floor, an additional garden with city views is composed of raised planters to grow herbs and vegetables, providing food for the residents and a functional connection to nature.
The streets below are enhanced by Australian Willows (Geijera parviflora) on 7th and Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) on Wall Street. A large boulder and a Camphor tree, elements present in the inner courtyard, merge with the sidewalk. Overall, these gardens and outdoor rooms enliven the building architecture and provide a dynamic platform, both horizontally and vertically, for community, discovery, and growth. This is meant to be a healing place, a residence for finding peace and serenity, a respite from urban, public life, and a transition to a more functional and integrated life. The growth of leaves, vines, and flowers emulate one's personal growth. Peaceful nooks meet the needs of the residents.

Outcome
The healing refuge of FLOR expresses a seamless connection between buildings and landscape. Working closely with the builders and craftspeople always yields the most satisfying results. Now extruding from the courtyard floor, the beauty, form, and relationships of these elements are more apparent and poignant. In the final placement and orientation of elements, one must feel the freedom to deviate from the plans and relate directly to the built space, studying the proportions in order to arrive at a state of repose, fitness, and a natural sublimity. As Luis Barragan, a famous Mexican architect who passed away in 1988, stated, "We have worked and hope to continue to work inspired by the faith that the aesthetic truth of those ideas will in some measure contribute toward dignifying human existence by promoting beauty in the service of graceful living."

As seen in LASN magazine, April 2025.