Synergy Forest Hill Village is a 32,000 sf campus that merges adaptive reuse with new construction to create a restorative living environment for vulnerable families in crisis. Nestled on a uniquely large site within a residential neighborhood, the project revitalizes a long-vacant institutional structure and connects it to a new two-story residential building. The design reflects Synergy’s mission to provide dignity and safety through architecture. The reused structure preserves existing masonry walls, while the new construction introduces clean, modern forms and durable materials. The organization’s trauma-informed model influenced the spatial layout and material palette, emphasizing privacy, daylight access, and calming spatial rhythms. Passive and active strategies support performance: integrated solar shading fins mitigate heat gain, native landscaping reduces irrigation needs, and a large on-site solar array supplies renewable energy to the campus. Rather than erase the site’s past, the design reframes it, offering a secure, empowering environment where young residents and families can begin the process of healing and growth.

This project demonstrates sustainability as both a technical and social imperative. Designed as a restorative residential campus for families in crisis, the project blends adaptive reuse with new construction to reduce embodied carbon, conserve resources, and reconnect the site to its wooded, residential context. Architecture becomes a tool for healing, safety, and dignity. Passive strategies such as solar orientation, envelope upgrades, and operable windows, minimize energy use and ensure comfort during extreme temperatures or poor air quality. These are supported by a large onsite solar energy field that offsets a significant portion of the campus’s operational energy, stabilizing long-term costs and reducing carbon impact. Bioswales and prairie-style native plantings capture and filter stormwater, recharge groundwater, and eliminate the need for permanent irrigation. Inside, low-flow plumbing fixtures exceed code minimums, conserving water while supporting long-term performance and resilience. Daylight, framed views to nature, and calming interior finishes reflect trauma-informed design principles. The adaptive reuse of the former institutional building avoids demolition waste and preserves embodied energy, while the new construction softens the site’s legacy through warm, modern forms.

This is architecture in service of people and place by being environmentally responsible, socially restorative, and deeply rooted in its community.