Edwin M. Lee apartments: Designed to serve veterans

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["video-card",{"video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U_P601bJx4s"}]],"markups":[["b"],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/showcases\/6483992-edwin-m-lee-apartments"]],["strong"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Before the Edwin M. Lee apartments, a one-of-a-kind,\naffordable housing community in San Francisco, were built, Margie Talavera did\nnot have a home of her own. Rents were high in the city, and the former Navy\nmedic, 67, was at a low point in her life. When she wasn\u2019t sleeping on someone\u2019s\ncouch, she and her Scottish terrier, Little Bear, were living in her car. The inconsistency of her days, especially not\nknowing where she would safely sleep, left Talavera feeling hopeless. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cI didn\u2019t want to spend my senior\nyears depressed,\u201d said Talavera, who joined the military after high school. \u201cMoving\nhere gave me another chance.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In 2019, Swords to Plowshares, a\nnon-profit that serves Bay Area veterans in need, offered Talavera a subsidized\napartment. It was the last unit available. With a window overlooking the courtyard\nand just steps from the elevator, she was told it might be noisy. But from the\nmoment she moved in, the space struck the perfect chord. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cI love the design, the light, the windows.\nMy little apartment is perfect,\u201d said Talavera. She can hear laughter and children\nplaying from the courtyard, but \u201cI can\u2019t hear the elevator; I don\u2019t hear the\nconstruction from the streets. I don\u2019t know how they figured that out.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Veterans are thriving"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Protecting veterans, many of whom\nsuffer from post-traumatic stress, from the intrusive sound was among the unique\nconsiderations made by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Said+Sullivan Design\nPartners, who helped Swords to Plowshares and its partner, the Chinatown\nCommunity Development Center, create the housing center. All windows and\nstorefront of the building are outdoor-indoor transmission class-rated to\nprevent exterior noise transmission. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Swords to Plowshares has seven other\nhousing sites for veterans in San Francisco, but the Edwin M. Lee, aptly named\nfor the late San Francisco mayor who dedicated his career to affordable housing\nand ending veteran homelessness, was the first project on which the nonprofit partnered\nwith architects to anticipate the needs of veteran residents in every design\nelement. The team researched\npost-trauma design methods, including Ideo\u2019s Wounded Warrior concept home and\nPerkins and Will\u2019s Posttraumatic Understanding, to enhance a sense of\ncommunity among different user groups and specific methods to a calm and healing space in an urban context. The building is among the ten innovative projects AIA recognized with a \n"],[0,[1],1,"2022\nCOTE\u00ae Top Ten Award"],[0,[],0," for its low-carbon design and the builders\u2019 intention toward\nintegrated, equitable, and resilient living. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThis place is not just a roof over someone\u2019s\nhead,\u201d explained Soo Kim, assistant director, Fund Development \u0026\nCommunications, Swords to Plowshares. \u201cIt was designed to provide a beautiful\nhome that adds value to veterans\u2019 lives, and it comes with a support system to\nhelp veterans be successful.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Swords to Plowshares provides on-site mental\nhealth specialists to serve veterans, and the civilians who reside in the\nbuilding are also part of the plan. Families who earn between 50% and 60% of the\narea\u2019s median income are eligible for an apartment. Young families join veterans,\nall 55 and older, for Halloween costume contests, movie nights, and rounds of Bingo.\nThe building\u2019s first-floor community room is a place for shared meals, writing\nand art classes, and music. Neighbors have turned the planters in the courtyard\n- once a paved site, now a favorite gathering space for K-9 therapy - into a\nshared edible garden. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cVeterans at Edwin M. Lee are thriving,\u201d\nsaid Kim. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Making a statement"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Countless\nstructures are built in communities across the United States in tribute to veterans;\nThe American Battle Monument Commission alone maintains 32 memorials, monuments,\nand markers. But Talavera sees her home, with its integrally colored rainscreen\nfa\u00e7ade and its repurposed granite curbs and cobblestone paths, as the most significant\nway to honor people who have served their country. She has never felt safer\nthan when she sleeps inside the wood-framed walls of the concrete structure, with\ncement\nreplacement in concrete at 70% using a combination of slag and fly ash to reduce\ncarbon impact. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWhen I\u2019m\nwalking on the street, I will point to this beautiful building,\u201d Talavera says.\n\u201cI am really proud of it. It just makes a statement.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The building\nis helping Talavera make a statement, too. She has produced a one-woman pantomime\nshow that will open soon at The Marsh, a San Franciso performing arts center. She uses the community room to practice."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cI always wanted to do a show, but I couldn\u2019t\nhave done something like that moving around. I just started doing it here. The\nmore I talked about it, the more my neighbors listened. It happened here,\u201d\nTalavera said, with pride. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"San Franciso\u2019s diverse culture is\nrepresented in Talavera\u2019s neighbors. She especially appreciates living\nalongside other veterans, all of whom have disabilities and half of whom are Black,\nIndigenous, or people of color. \u201cWe learned in the military to look out for each\nother, and we still do that.\u201d Many fellow artisans helped her create fliers for\nthe show, and she knows they will be there for her performance. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cI am humbled and grateful. There\u2019s\njust an energy here; it\u2019s very touching,\u201d said Talavera. Even her dog, Little\nBear, feels the sense of community. \u201cHe walks around the place like it\u2019s all his.\nI think he understands we are finally home.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[2],1,"Watch"],[0,[],0,": A day in the life of a veteran resident at Edwin M. Lee Apartments (Courtesy: Swords to Plowshares)"]]],[10,0]]}