Anita May Rosenstein Campus — Los Angeles, California

Designed by Leong Leong and Killefer Flammang Architects, the new site, located on McCadden Place and Santa Monica Boulevard, is a new typology for community-based urban development that includes diverse social and affordable housing programs. The porous, pedestrian-oriented urban campus features a public plaza and a series of courtyards that unify various social services, cultural and institutional programs, and the Center’s existing neighbor facility, the Village at Ed Gould Plaza. The result is a new, integrated platform for living as an intergenerational LGBTQ community.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019, the Los Angeles LGBT Center currently serves more LGBTQ people than any other organization in the world, welcoming over 42,000 client visits each month. The new campus will enable a dramatic expansion of the Center’s intergenerational services, including 100 beds for homeless youth, a new Senior Community Center and Youth Academy, as well as expanded programming, administrative space, a retail space, cultural events space, and more.

Envisioning a cohesive campus along McCadden Place, the design concept integrates a mosaic of unique spaces and programs that—together with the Village at Ed Gould Plaza—welcomes and connects residents, neighbors, clients, and staff. The masterplan includes 12 dedicated programs, each a distinct form, that, together, comprise a multiplicity of identities, spanning over 183,700 square feet or nearly two acres.

“The Anita May Rosenstein Campus is a new type of social infrastructure for the LGBTQ community that synthesizes social services and affordable housing into a porous urban campus,” says Dominic Leong. “Inspired by the mission of the Center, the architecture is a cohesive mosaic of identities and programs rather than a singular iconic gesture. With a series of internal courtyards and a new public plaza, the campus proactively interfaces with the city while also creating a sanctuary for the community within.”