Davis Community Meals & Housing hosts American Institute of Architects for Sneak Peek at Paul’s Place
Paul’s Place is a Community Response to the National Challenge of Homelessness
Davis Community Meals & Housing (DCMH), in partnership with the American Institute of Architects – Central Valley Chapter (AIACV), is hosting preview tours of Paul’s Place, an innovative multi-use, four-story building designed to serve the community’s vulnerable homeless individuals.
Free public tours of Paul’s Place take place on Friday, October 7, 2022, from noon to 5:30 pm.
Directions to Paul’s Place: 1111 H Street, Davis, CA 95616
Additionally, a tour and panel discussion with the architect and building design experts happens on Monday, October 10 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. There is a $10 fee to attend, RSVP at https://ea22-paulsplace.eventbrite.com/.
The tours are part of AIA’s 2022 Experience Architecture, an annual public-outreach event developed and led by AIA architects, partners, and community organizations.
Located at 1111 H Street in Davis, Paul’s Place is owned and operated by Davis Community Meals and Housing. Designed by award-winning architect and Davis resident Maria Ogrydziak, Paul’s Place is one-of-a-kind structure that includes key support services on each level to serve individuals at all stages of need — from crisis, to transition, to permanent supportive housing.
The Paul’s Place tours provide a unique opportunity to see the entire facility before it is occupied, and to learn about the vision and collaboration behind the design of the project in which the architect, along with elected officials, business executives, nonprofit leaders, the faith community, service providers and members of the community, came together to create a plan for this unique collaborative local response to homelessness.
The AIA event is designed to facilitate greater transparency with the public in how architects create our built environment and how it impacts their daily lives; to create an ongoing dialogue to inform a distinct, regional, architectural identity; and to highlight existing relationships between the region and its architecture.
Paul’s Place is a local response to a national challenge and is created to serve as a model that can be replicated throughout the country. By building a facility that provides day services, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive shelter with wraparound services in a central location, the community is helping those who need it most while reducing the economic and environmental burden of homelessness on downtown, parks, and neighborhoods.
Once completed, Paul’s Place will include 18 300-square-foot private units of permanent supportive micro-housing; 10 single residence units of transitional housing; four emergency shelter beds, as requested by law enforcement; enhanced day services including enlarged shower, restroom, and laundry facilities; expanded access to critical social services, life skills support, job training; coordinated referrals with other resources and service providers; and important health services and programs to address the unique physical, mental, and emotional health needs of homeless individuals.
Community members provided nearly over half of the funding for Paul’s Place through private donations. Major donors include Sutter Health, Partnership HealthPlan of California, the City of Davis, and the County of Yolo.
Paul’s Place is scheduled to be completed in December 2022.