Studio One Eleven is assisting the re-opening of St. Francis Center Long Beach, an essential service center for the hungry and for needy families and individuals. The redesigned center has begun rehabilitation after City of Long Beach condemned the structure over safety concerns. Studio One Eleven is providing design services. The new facility restores and adaptively reuses a former office building by noted Modernist architect Edward Killingsworth, at 1041 East 7th Street in downtown Long Beach.

The renovated structure will allow St. Francis Center to resume its crucial mission of providing food, clothing and emergency assistance in a nurturing atmosphere. At approximately 5,400 square feet, the center will include a new commercial kitchen, offices for employment and family consulting services, meeting spaces, and storage to provide clothing to the homeless. The redesign transforms a long driveway into a new courtyard and garden for people, allowing safe queuing during service work.

The building is one story and very horizontal in character. The west façade is primarily post and beam construction with expansive infill glass, a trademark characteristic of Ed Killingsworth design. To prevent heat gain, the existing trellis will be restored to protect the façade and now provide shade for users in the new courtyard and gardens.

The facility has long served the most vulnerable sector of the population, and with the current pandemic, the need for assistance has never been greater, said Bohn

· Among the design details:

· It is a reuse of a single-story, wood-framed structure.

· Studio One Eleven retained 50% of the building exterior to allow permitting as a remodel.

· New construction on the exterior is planned to restore the original Killingsworth design.

· New exterior finishes, roof and window/door systems are being added.

· Interior spaces will be all new with upgraded finishes.

Studio One Eleven also helped St. Francis in securing building permits and supported fundraising for the organization.