The Aurora is a 93 unit all affordable housing project  focused on family sized apartments located in the Glenfair Neighborhood near the divide of East Portland and Gresham, OR.  Partially funded by the Portland Housing Bond, the project includes 16 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units for formerly houseless households identified through coordinated access by the Joint Office of Homeless Services of Multnomah County.  The design of this critical housing project reflects OJF/HSI’s desire to create a place of new beginnings, safety and long-term stability through its low-maintenance building and landscape materials, trauma-informed design characteristics and sustainable operating features.  

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Working within the bounds of a simple massing derived from the concept of barriers and healing, natural building and landscape materials invite resident and community members into calming common spaces and individual units where house becomes home.  Finishes were selected to reinforce the project’s sense of safety through cool green hues, wood and neutrals while spatial configuration highlighted individual choice, self-protective space and clear view corridors.  Each of these features facilitates the introduction of stable housing to those who have experienced houselessness and carry trauma.

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I was fortunate enough to be able to manage this project and its production to construction start while at Holst, but I had the experience of becoming the client managing the project from the side of development once I transitioned to OJF/HSI.  There I was on the project through it’s construction completion in summer 2023.