The James M. Wood Community Center, designed for Skid Row seniors and those in recovery, features a 12.2-meter civic colonnade that transforms the intersection by becoming the new eastern edge of the existing park across the street. The design creates two vital public spaces:
a ground floor "community living room" and a rooftop garden terrace. With a 5.5-meter high ceiling and extensive natural light, the center extends an invitation to the s homeless and low-income population, so often overlooked and under-served by drab buildings. The community’s overwhelming response to this project reaffirms the notion that beauty is fundamental to human dignity, and it is no more acutely needed and felt than at the lowest end of the social ladder.