kdA was selected to design the new Stuart House, a program of the Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center Orthopedic Hospital. The firm’s design for the Stuart House provides a safe, welcoming environment for children who have suffered abuse.

The Stuart House is an internationally recognized model program created to meet the special needs of sexually abused children and their families. It is an exemplary public/private partnership that brings together the services of the hospital’s Rape Treatment Center, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and various law enforcement agencies to enhance services for child victims. Stuart House also provides prevention education and training programs for professionals who provide services for abused children.

The current Stuart House was founded in 1988 and built on land owned and donated for its use by the former Santa Monica Hospital. The new, 11,250SF facility rests on a lot adjacent to the current facility and contains the following Stuart House Programs: therapists offices, observation room, support staff offices, offices for police, DDA, DCFS, reception and waiting area.

kdA looked to the early paintings of Wassily Kandinsky and Egon Schiele that explore simple house shapes that line streets and create towns. Inspired by the homes that read both as individual elements and as part of a village, we envisioned a center that becomes a community of support incorporating all the program elements in shared “houses.” Inside a secure, safe environment has little visual connection to the outside world, limiting distractions and intrusions. A large skylight over the central stair pulls natural light into all areas, ensuring the spaces are free of shadows. Corridors are minimized and visual connections through the building are maintained.