In September of 2020, smack in the heart of the pandemic and the reeling aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Gensler Design Director Edgardo Caceres-Alvarez hardly expected a perfect project to land on his doorstep. And although there’s actually no such thing, the 2021 renovation of REACH LA (Realistic Education in Action Coalition to foster Health) comes pretty darn close.

The Renovated Dance Studio at REACH LA: One element of the community center’s emphasis on the creative arts.

*All photos courtesy of ©Ryan Gobuty.

Founded in 1992 by three women artists, REACH LA began as a community center focused on providing health services related to HIV prevention and sexual education for youth of color, but gradually evolved into a multicultural enterprise supporting the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities that’s also focused on creative arts programming: “We aspire toward a safe and supportive environment that strives to educate, motivate and mobilize youth around sexual/reproductive health, culture and self-preservation,” says the REACH LA Website.

Branding throughout the space emphasizes empowerment and self-expression.

Caceres-Alvarez, who had lived in Downtown L.A. for more than a decade and was friends with REACH LA Executive Director Miguel Bujanda, was cautiously optimistic when the latter approached him about renovating the space: “But I was actually shocked by the enthusiasm I encountered. I presented the project to Gensler Community Impact Leadership and they said, ‘Where do we need to sign?'”

The central space of REACH LA prior to renovation was tidy but drab: “It didn’t reflect the culture of the organization or its clientele.”

Caceres-Alvarez’ proposal was a pro bono project that would bring client-centric, world-class design to a community of limited financial resources: “They didn’t think they had the right to good design, but we convinced them otherwise.”

The “After” view. A vibrant color palette, dynamic wall and ceiling art, functional furnishings, and welcoming lighting radically transform the space.

As it turned out, Bujanda’s timing was impeccable. The combination of Pandemic-related malaise and outrage over racial discrimination motivated the architecture and design community to act. Gensler had recently formulated their “Strategies to Fight Racism.” A comprehensive people-first policy focused on ameliorating systemic racism in the A and D industry, as well as creating opportunities for Black, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved communities, the overriding objective is to “create purposeful, inclusive, and resilient spaces for everyone.”

Stylish café-style table and colorful pantry: a welcoming space that helps to establish a residential feel.

Perhaps the most impressive achievement of the REACH LA project was the low cost to the client. In fact, this is the driving notion of equitable design. As noted above, the client didn’t think they were entitled to such a vivid space-altering renovation. And as is frequently the case with businesses catering to communities of color, REACH LA is in what is commonly thought of as an “undesirable” building and location: an industrial office suite above a loading dock in L.A.’s warehouse/produce district, which is an historically marginalized part of the city with a largely under-represented community. Accordingly, REACH LA’s staff and clientele had been somewhat conditioned to tolerate a drab atmosphere that reflected neither their culture nor their spirit.

“Papel Picado.” The designers and client incorporated the colors of this Latino folk art into the design.

It took a collaborative effort to remedy this long-standing injustice. For this pro bono project, Caceres-Alvarez’s team was given three weeks to finalize the design. They held workshop/brainstorming sessions each Friday with the client—a productive exercise in which the Gensler team would introduce ideas and the REACH LA staff would accept, reject, or alter them, or offer their own counter ideas. The process was motivated by three core concepts: 1. incorporation of relevant cultural elements; 2. a color palette and branding that reflected the energy and dynamism of staff and clientele; and 3. a welcoming/residential feel, which everyone felt was particularly important for a community center that many users consider a surrogate home.

The geometric ceiling and wall art is inspired by the REACH LA logo: “we took the elongated E and stretched it out into intersecting and parallel lines… we wanted to make patterns that are dynamic with movement and that create energy in the space.” The featured wood block art is inspired by the spectrum of human skin tones.

Caceres-Alvarez emphasized that the project was first and foremost a collaboration, not only between the designers and the client, but also the manufacturers and the contractor. The client was extremely active throughout the process: “They had a lot of say in the language, textures, and finishes… They choose wood over the more colorful resilient floor we had proposed. They also requested stackable chairs for flexibility. Overall, they toned down the busyness of it and made it more sedate.”

A nice balance of order, symmetry, dynamism, energy, and functionality. The “dining room” area easily converts into a classroom-style configuration for presentations.

The manufacturers also came through in a big way. Just like Gensler, companies including Armstrong Flooring, Shaw Contract, Benjamin Moore Paint, USG, Turf, Daltile, Muuto, Epic Trends, and West Elm intuited the impact of the historical moment and were more than happy to help. In fact, Caceres-Alvarez estimates that around 90% of the furnishings, finishes, and fixtures were donated: “We received furniture, paint, ceiling tiles, flooring, backsplash tiles, and plastic laminate. Some of the furnishings had slight imperfections or had been replaced by a newer collection, but you really can’t tell… the client was extremely pleased.”

The contractor, Modern Construction, did their part as well. A local group also affiliated with the LGBTQ+ community, they offered a substantial discount on the work. And the construction was made more efficacious by smart planning and minimal alteration. While the before and after is striking, most of it was achieved with paint, furnishings, and fixtures, though the pantry space does include custom cabinets. “We didn’t move any structural walls,” says Caceres-Alvarez, “so we didn’t need to do construction drawings or pull permits. This expedited the process as well as helped to minimize costs.”

Streamlined metal screens provide on-demand privacy without disrupting the feel or the flow: a low-cost solution for flexibility and functionality.

After the conclusion of the charette, a couple of months passed before construction began, which went as seamlessly as the initial phases of design. In fact, the most difficult aspect of the project concerned logistics: “We were greatly indebted to our Resource Director and our designers. They created the Excel sheets with lists of manufacturers and products, wrote all the emails to them, and handled the challenges of receiving and storing everything.” Construction took only a few months, meaning the project was finalized about a half-year after Bujanda first approached Caceres-Alvarez, for an official opening in June of 2021, “just in time for Pride.”

Before and after images of the lounge that Gensler and REACH LA renovated shortly after the initial project.

REACH LA was so pleased with how the renovation was going that, during construction, they asked Gensler to propose another minor project—a re-design of an additional suite, which also included the dance studio (pictured at top of article). It was a fairly simple matter to match the older space to the new—paint, a couple of sofas, and new backsplash tiles. But once again the impact was significant. In the succeeding months, REACH LA obtained another suite. They continue to grow today. Says Caceres-Alvarez, “Because of new visibility and increased clients, they’re getting more grants, attending more people, and adding employees all the time.”

Throughout our conversation, Caceres-Alvarez repeatedly emphasized the fortuitous nature of the project. In this case, it took an extraordinary confluence of good will and prevailing cultural sentiment to bring it to fruition within the client’s budget. How often can designers and architects working toward equitable design make the same claim? Was this a one-off project? Or does it reflect an increasing trend in line with policies like Gensler’s Strategies to Fight Racism?

We ran out of time before I could propose the question, but if Caceres-Alvarez’s commitment and enthusiasm are indicative of the larger company culture, Gensler will continue to find ways to bring good design to underserved communities: “Overall the project was a real labor of love… everyone was happy to collaborate.”

Gensler Design Team:

• Edgardo Caceres Alvarez – Design Director
• Guy Williams – Principal
• Helle Hodjat – Resource Director
• Kathleen Sampang – Senior Designer
• Yuka Mizutani – Design Director

REACH LA:

• Miguel Bujanda – Executive Director
• Ken Balaski – Board member 2018-2022