Lehrer Architects Designs Tiny House Communities for the Homeless of Los Angeles

Lehrer Architects converts several leftover plots in Los Angeles into micro-homes developments, unfolding an experimental template for tackling homelessness. Together with the Bureau of Engineering for the City of Los Angeles, the architecture firm creates an efficient yet functional design using prefabricated pallet shelters and brings character to the project through vibrant colours to shape a new sense of community and restore dignity through design.

In February, Lehrer Architects completed Chandler Boulevard Bridge Home Village, its first transitional housing project. Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village, the second deployment of the experimental solution, this time at a scale twice bigger, is nearing completion and will accommodate 200 residents. A third transitional housing project is currently under construction. The developments represent an intermediary step in the city’s strategy of helping homeless people access permanent housing. The defining feature of the projects is the use of colour, which turns the strictly functional solution into a visually stimulating space that can foster a community.

Each project is built on the experience of the previous development, generating increasingly more articulated designs with the same frugal means. Designed and built-in record time, the “bridge” shelters use prefabricated modules, which are easily assembled and can be accommodated onto various infill sites. Each unit provides shelter for one or two people. In addition, the same modules are arranged to house all aspects of the program comprising collective dining and gathering space, showers, laundry, secure storage and assistance with accessing city service.

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