ACLU of Southern California

PROJECT TYPE Institutional / Workplace
LOCATION Los Angeles, CA

LewisSchoeplein designed the Southern California home of the American Civil Liberties Union, located in a low rise building in downtown Los Angeles. The project consists of 26,000 square feet of office space on 2 floors, connected by a new stair and 2-story space that serves as the social ‘hub’ of the organization. A detailed programming effort conducted by L/Sa evaluated the specific needs of multiple departments, detailed adjacency requirements and appropriate space allocations. The resulting design maintains a traditional law office approach of individual offices but in combination with a much greater emphasis on collaborative work opportunities in an open environment. The project was structured around the limited budget typical of many not-for-profit organizations. L/Sa also served as the ACLU’s base building architect and facilitated tenant negotiations and build-out of an additional 13,000 square feet of leased space.

a collaborative non-profit environment

The wall at the entry is inscribed with the ACLU’s Economic Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1983. It reads in part: The right to employment: Every person in the United States who desires to work and is capable of working should be assured of a safe, meaningful, and socially useful job that pays a fair living wage. The right to decent standard of living (food, housing, and health care): Every person in the United States should be assured of a basic standard of living. Every person, regardless of ability to pay, has a fundamental right to nourishing food, safe, decent, and affordable housing, and comprehensive health care.