Emergency Homeless Shelter

Hunter Smith Architecture was hired to complete a feasibility study and conceptual design for a Temporary Emergency Homeless Shelter at the County Operations Center. Our scope of work involved determining requirements from the County Building Official and Fire Marshal for this unique housing facility with ambiguous requirements in the County and California Codes.

We identified constraints and challenges unique to the County’s chosen building site, and determined the processes and probable construction costs necessary to build the project. Our conceptual layout included 33 dual occupancy temporary shelters in a configuration that maximized occupancy on the site while meeting the requirements of the Building Official and Fire Marshal.

Ultimately, the information we provided led the County to explore other sites for temporary homeless housing.