The Journey

Project Design

Studio One Eleven is based in Long Beach, where it is playing a central role in the area’s downtown revival. The Journey (2024), in Venice, is a 100% affordable, supportive housing complex for young people transitioning out of foster care, some families and some people who had been living on the streets. The dwellings are above a service center on the ground floor, Safe Place for Youth (SPY).

The building is on the East-facing side of Lincoln Boulevard, a multi-lane thoroughfare that is noisy, polluted and unsafe for pedestrians. So the design and development took advantage of the bounty to the West: the ocean, the horizon and LA sunsets. They also met with resistance to the project from a neighboring church.

So the architects built up the streetside, and created terraced levels to reduce the massing close to the church. This buffered sound on one side and delivered gorgeous views and relaxing common spaces on the West-facing side. The name of the building refers to its goals: to create a foundation, sense of purpose and future for its community of adults and young people who may have suffered from instability and lack of support. But the name is also expressed in its design, which lets visitors and residents take a “journey” from the side gate, up exterior staircases leading finally to its rooftop with a million-dollar view.

“It was important for us to have outdoor space on every level, various patios, and some that are more social, and some that are more quiet and private. Even though you’re in this hustle and bustle of LA you have a further connection to nature, and we thought this was very important,” says Michael Bohn, Partner-in-Charge.

More about The Journey.

More about Studio One Eleven.

More about Venice Community Housing.

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Reflections

Sometimes I just come up here (to the 4th Floor), to catch a vibe, and I run into someone else, and we wind up talking, and sometimes it lasts for hours.
I think all apartments should have some sort of a space for everyone to share.
But especially a place like this, it’s especially important because you need a community after going through a tough time. It’s hard to be alone. It’s hard to go through things by yourself, and a place to share with others that are in the same boat as you, it’s priceless.
—Anthony, Resident

(The terrace resembles a porch) because it is a communal area. A lot of people can come and connect, sit down, talk, not only be able to communicate, but oversee an amazing view. So I do think that it is pretty similar. It’s not the same, but it is similar.
—La’Miya, Case Manager

Top: The Journey, façade. Photo by Paul Vu/Here and Now Agency; Bottom left, roof terrace at The Journey. Photo by Paul Vu/Here and Now Agency; Bottom right, Anthony, a resident at The Journey. Photo by Frances Anderton.