reStart Housing

RESTART, INC. | KANSAS CITY, MO

*Work completed while at El Dorado

DATE: 2015    ROLE: Architecture + Interior Design   COST: $1,677,000    SIZE: 13,075 SF

Over 800 individuals age out of foster care each year within Jackson County, Missouri alone. Quality housing is critical to allow those who have not had a stable home in their formative years to start adult life in a dignified and supportive environment. Furthermore, those who age out of foster care and have mental health diagnoses experience homelessness over three times the general population. The reStart Housing development, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides a holistic environment to support these specific individuals’ transition to adult life within our community. In contrast to the typical HUD layout, the building leverages the cost of the primary circulation system to also function as connected open-air courtyards, providing natural light from multiple directions, cross-breeze ventilation for each dwelling, and a porch at the apartment entrances. In direct response to engagement sessions with potential residents, each of the 14 one-bedroom apartments is designed as a series of spaces of varying levels of privacy, allowing the individuals to control their own opportunities for social interaction; from bedroom to living room to vestibule to porch. A shared community building is attached to the residents by a common roof, offering space for education, events, and the greatest opportunity for social interaction with each other.

The reStart Housing development is the result of over five years of research, design, community engagement, and governmental cooperation. The outcome of this effort provides permanent housing, support services, and an opportunity for self-sufficiency; preemptively preventing homelessness before it begins.

RECOGNITION 

  • Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) Network, Honorable Mention, 2017
  • AIA Central States Region Design Excellence Awards, Merit, 2016
  • AIA Kansas City Design Excellence Awards, Citation, 2016
  • Kansas City Business Journal, Capstone, 2015
Back to Work