1. Home
  2. Magazine 2024
  3. The Plan 157
  4. A Healing Environment

A Healing Environment

“26 Point 2” Affordable Housing

Michael Maltzan Architecture

A Healing Environment
By Michael Webb -

Over the past 30 years, Michael Maltzan and his associates have been bringing exemplary design to those most in need, along with a wide range of project types including cultural and institutional buildings, expansive houses for art collectors, and a landmark bridge over the Los Angeles River. It began with Inner City Arts, an educational program for disadvantaged kids in downtown Los Angeles, and continued through four projects for the Skid Row Housing Trust. The firm brings a spirit of invention and humanity to the most frugal of their commissions, inspiring many other L.A. architects who share their commitment to social justice. Sadly, demand far exceeds supply, as the homeless population of L.A. continues to grow, and progress in constructing affordable housing is painfully slow. Funding is inadequate, homeowners throw up obstacles, and plans are delayed by a tangle of constantly changing, often unreasonable regulations.

In contrast, the 77-unit block of permanent supportive housing for the homeless near the port city of Long Beach was approved in six months and constructed in under two years. It was commissioned by an enlightened, locally based developer, Excelerate Housing Group, which named it 26 Point 2. That is the distance in miles of a marathon run, and it refers to the adage that life is a journey. For Maltzan, it came as a welcome relief from the ordeal of building in his home city. “A preconception that architects are extravagant is still prevalent among most developers”, he explains. “Excelerate shares our belief that architecture can help in the healing process, by creating a balance between private and social spaces, the building and its surroundings. A well-designed building gives residents greater visibility and respect rather than a generic structure”.

The wood-framed block occupies a corner site in what was once an oilfield, and a cluster of storage tanks is a near neighbor. The ground is full of...

Proceed with your preferred purchase option to continue reading
Digital

Digital

5.49 €
Printed

Printed

15.00 €
Subscription

Subscription

From 42.00 €
Choose subscription
Keep up with the latest trends in the architecture and design world

© Maggioli SpA • THE PLAN • Via del Pratello 8 • 40122 Bologna, Italy • T +39 051 227634 • P. IVA 02066400405 • ISSN 2499-6602 • E-ISSN 2385-2054
ITC Avant Garde Gothic® is a trademark of Monotype ITC Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which may be registered in certain other jurisdictions.