Meeting a critical need in southeastern Los Angeles County, the Greater Whittier LGBTQ+ Community Center stands as a vital hub for essential support, advocacy, and regional visibility. Serving as Job Captain for this 2,600-square-foot tenant improvement within the Whittier Public Health Center, I worked alongside our interior designer to guide an approach centered on highly flexible programming. The adaptive layout seamlessly accommodates counseling sessions, youth initiatives, legal aid clinics, drop-in services, and large community events, all engineered to cultivate a profound sense of belonging, joy, and connection. To realize this mission-driven environment, our multidisciplinary team fully integrated architecture, interior design, engineering, AV/IT infrastructure, and experiential graphics into a singular, cohesive aesthetic that celebrates and uplifts the LGBTQ+ community in Whittier and the surrounding region.
Through a thoughtful process of adaptive reuse, our design transforms a 1960s-era County Probation office into a vibrant, inclusive sanctuary. Highly adaptable collaboration zones, comprising intimate interview spaces, varied meeting rooms, and an expansive multipurpose hall, serve as the infrastructure for dynamic cultural programming, social gatherings, and volunteer mobilization. The architecture fiercely prioritizes dignity and connection; welcoming interiors are paired with a room-naming matrix honoring prominent California LGBTQ+ figures, while a continuous rainbow mural bridges the exterior façade and the interior reception to broadcast pride and community visibility.
Far exceeding its function as a physical structure, the center is engineered to actively validate and empower its occupants. By establishing an environmental baseline of psychological and physical safety, the design lowers barriers for individuals seeking resources, building kinship, and expressing their authentic selves. This profound intentionality behind every material and spatial choice ensures the center operates not merely as a conduit for services, but as an ecosystem where the community can truly thrive.
Inside, the interior design seamlessly articulates the architectural themes of the exterior, embedding the symbolic palette of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag directly into the spatial experience. From the entry threshold, visitors are received by a vibrant, welcoming reception area engineered to alleviate cognitive anxiety and immediately establish a sense of safety for those seeking kinship or support.
A critical anchor of the floor plan is the intimate group counseling room, which integrates a custom, privacy-enhancing glass graphic. This strategic element, coupled with acoustic felt panels, safeguards visual and acoustic confidentiality, creating an affirming, protected enclosure optimized for open dialogue and emotional healing.
Our Experiential Graphic Design team established the center's visual identity through an integrated system of interior graphics, wayfinding signage, and a monumental exterior mural that wraps the building's façade. Rendered in the vibrant palette of the Pride flag, the mural anchors the facility's architecture while broadcasting a powerful message of LGBTQ+ visibility and systemic resilience.
The artwork depicts iconic figures from LGBTQ+ history: Bayard Rustin, James Baldwin, Frida Kahlo, Marsha P. Johnson, and Harvey Milk. By abstracting rather than literalizing each portrait, the composition invites visitors to project their own identities onto the artwork rather than remaining passive observers. This deliberate graphic choice mirrors the center's overarching mandate: creating an environment where every individual feels deeply represented, not merely accommodated.
Architectural intent directly shapes this project's systemic impact. The resulting environment transcends basic service delivery, operating as a spatial catalyst for personal empowerment. Prior to the center's inception, LGBTQ+ residents in southeastern Los Angeles County faced a 45-minute commute to downtown Los Angeles to access essential resources, a geographic distance that functioned as a prohibitive barrier to care. By establishing the Greater Whittier LGBTQ+ Community Center, our design directly addresses this inequity, embedding a highly accessible, intentional sanctuary within the immediate fabric of the community.
The architecture centralizes vital programming, including support groups, substance use disorder treatment, and mental health counseling, into a singular, welcoming destination. For many LGBTQ+ individuals, living authentically carries a devastating cost, often resulting in familial rejection and displacement. Through this concentrated infrastructure, the center restores what many have lost: a tangible sense of home and spatial belonging. Furthermore, the facility integrates legal aid clinics alongside age-appropriate youth programming, inclusive workshops, and strategic referral networks to secure long-term community resilience.
I sat down with DLR's Media team to discuss the substantial impact this project has on its community. Watch below to hear my perspective firsthand.