Third Street Commons

TRAUMA INFORMED DESIGN

Third Street Commons is emblematic of housing-first initiatives by being grounded in trauma-informed design. The property promotes transparency, security, and community through biophilic design elements including the structurally exposed wood; art screens that abstract tree branches and control light and shadow; views to the courtyard and open-air corridors; and extensive landscaping and access to planter boxes for gardening.

The easily navigable space supports each resident’s personal approach. Layers of transparency and varying degrees of visual access allow residents to choose how they interact with the community, neighbors, and staff, while sensory boundaries such as material, color, and texture demark transitions between spaces. Nooks along busy gathering and circulation areas allow for prospect and refuge. The layout also features key identity anchors such as ritual spaces for cooking, smoking, congregating, and relaxing.

SITE

The property is designed to maximize resident comfort while remaining strategically organized. The front office exists as a community-facing entrance, featuring welcoming benches and planters, while simultaneously serving as a buffer between the residences and the busy main road. Maintenance and storage spaces are made to be readily available for staff while remaining unobstructive of the core residential area.

The site, located upon an existing floodplain, posed multiple challenges for the resilience of the project. The previous motel, which had been converted into temporary housing, was beyond repair and presented life safety issues for its residents. Corvallis Housing First has deemed the site a perfect location for their first ground-up development. The structures necessitated a ground-up solution to mitigate future flooding, including elevating all living spaces three feet above the flood line. In tandem with robust vapor mitigations strategies to deal with environmental issues from neighboring sites, our team applied a resilience plan that goes above and beyond the minimum standards while also targeting Earth Advantage Platinum certification.

AMENITIES

Residents have easy access to key amenities and resources. Shared computer stations in the community room provide technological opportunities to those without access to devices of their own. The shared kitchenette and outdoor pet-friendly courtyard serve dual purposes as hubs for socialization.

In addition to standard utilities, residents and their guests alike have access to a commercial-grade staff-operated laundry machine and a communal shower stall.

Critical staff services are available to residents from the 24-hour lobby. In-house services are available to residents for minor health concerns and consultations. A separate pantry storage space is available for food, clothing, and furniture donations from the community and other local organizations.

COMMUNITY EFFORT

Community and city support has been a consistent and integral part of the project from the beginning. Our team conducted five engagement sessions with existing and future residents, staff, neighbors, and service providers in order to incorporate their needs and lived experiences into the context of the design. This feedback was solicited both separately and collectively, allowing each voice to be heard in earnest. Key desires arose early, including high-visibility sightlines, ample egress, attachment to the community, and opportunities for self-expression. The sum of these desires resulted in a development that offers dignity, resiliency, and support. As the first official headquarters of Corvallis Housing First, Third Street Commons serves as a successful example of how trauma-informed design plays a key role in uplifting houseless members of our community.