Sun Shelter Pavilion

San Julian Street in los Angeles has a large homeless population residing along the street.

The Sun Shelter Pavilion occupies the front yard area of the newly renovated Frank Rice Safehaven facility, a drop-in and crisis center for the homeless with mental illnesses. Replacing boundaries with thresholds and seeking to provide an integral and prototypical urban interface, the space encompassed by the Sun Shelter Pavilion proposes a place at which independent - and often unrelated - systems meet and act on, or communicate, with each other. By creating an effective and dynamic relationship between the inside and outside realms, the Sun Shelter Pavilion establishes a platform of exchange between the Skid Row area homeless population and the organization’s mission: to facilitate interaction and resource-sharing in order to contribute to the development of a functionally supportive and empowering community.

The building components consist of a series of vertical composite plywood fins and a minimal steel frame accounting for lateral forces. The cladding elements consist of 100% recycled and 100% recyclable polyurethane panels, providing a weatherproof and UV resistant skin.