GBI’s ACCESS Program

Past Recipients

ABOUT THE VILLAGE

Friendship House Association of American Indians (Friendship House or FH) is a CARF certified, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, community-based organization and was established in 1963 to serve American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) who were relocated from their reservations to the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1963, Friendship House has served more than 6,200 residential clients of the substance abuse treatment program, hundreds of youth consumers, and countless numbers of AI/AN community members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Friendship House strives to meaningfully impact the lives of AI/AN people by reducing trauma and inequities in health care, increasing resilience to discrimination and substance misuse, and improving outcomes related to emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual well-being. Friendship House integrates American Indian healing practices with evidence-based methods to address the complex needs of residential clients. 

The Village Wellness Center will expand these services and create a more sustainable future for our community by providing green infrastructure and climate resilience. The Village is a 6-story wellness center providing service in medical care, substance abuse treatment, youth programming and cultural healing. The American Indian community has been at the forefront of environmental justice as the original land stewards of the United States, and the Village is an extension of our communities history and ecological resilience. In consideration of our past and future generations with the onslaught of the climate crisis, the Village SF Wellness Center’s building design will contribute to cultural and environmental resilience for years to come. The Village will also provide a resiliency center, a designated place for the community to take refuge in times of emergency, like natural disasters, heat waves, with emergency power, water, food and other support services.

SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES OF THE VILLAGE

The Village SF has been crafted with purposeful design for local climate change and provides exemplary energy cost savings through environmentally sound construction materials that sequester carbon, such as mass timber framing. In addition, our design incorporates a nature based relationship and design that connects our community with the natural environment in an urban setting.

The project’s architecture models sustainable urban living and environmental justice, embodying indigenous wisdom and values, stewardship, and deep ecology through a “living building.” The Type IV-C mass timber structure will be left exposed on the interior to reinforce the owners’ commitment to nontoxic natural healing surfaces. A breathing skin of operable windows and a vertical terracotta lattice will modulate airflow and sunlight. Land is reclaimed by the roof garden, a gathering place for Native peoples, plants, and animals, reconnecting occupants to sky and surroundings. The building will also be equipped to serve as an emergency shelter for the broader community. Its prominent setting emphasizes the project’s role as a beacon for Indigenous services and peoples.

2023 – The Beehive
by SoLa Impact

ABOUT THE BEEHIVE

SoLa Impact is an affordable housing and real estate investment company serving Black and brown communities in Los Angeles. SoLa’s headquarters, known as The Beehive, is 92,000 square feet of commercial space comprised of six unique and architecturally beautiful red brick warehouses. It is situated within the very communities that SoLa invests in, conveniently located ten minutes south of downtown LA. This project has been a catalyst for the transformation of the local neighborhood and economy. Among its tenants are women- and minority-owned businesses, including the Tree Yoga Cooperative, South LA Brewing, and the SoLa Impact’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate, the SoLa I CAN Foundation

As featured in the LA Times, the Beehive has emerged as the epicenter of entrepreneurship and culture for the Black community in Los Angeles. Community organizations launch their events at The Beehive, and it serves as a gathering place for celebrations, non-profit events, fundraisers, and more. Among its current tenants are California’s first Black-owned craft brewery, a Black-owned art gallery designed for emerging creatives, and a cutting-edge Technology and Entrepreneurship Center dedicated to nurturing future tech and entertainment leaders from South Los Angeles. 

SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES OF THE BEEHIVE

As an adaptive reuse project, The Beehive is inherently sustainable, making use of an existing building and aiding in urban infill. The campus has a walk score of 76 and ready access to mass transit. Bio-based construction materials were used including SFI-certified lumber. The project is also energy and water efficient with an Energy Star Target Finder energy score of 90 and a water score of 86. Light fixtures are LED and controlled by occupancy and daylighting sensors. The focus on maximized daylighting not only reduces energy use but aids in occupant health and wellness. Low flow and low flush plumbing fixtures are used throughout campus reducing water usage. Stormwater is used for irrigation and retained on-site in swales. Visitors to the campus will notice a biophilic quality to the site with community gardens and drought-tolerant plants used in landscaping. The campus’s impressive sustainability features resulted in a Two Green Globes certification demonstrating a significant achievement in resource efficiency, reducing environmental impacts, and improving occupant wellness.