San Antonio piloting Ikea's trauma-informed housing design
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Exterior and interior of the Ikea-designed home. Photos: Courtesy of Ikea
Towne Twin Village now features an Ikea-designed home built with trauma recovery in mind.
Why it matters: This marks Ikea U.S.'s first trauma-informed housing project, making San Antonio a leader in a healing-first approach to housing. Ikea is currently working with partners in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, to implement similar trauma-informed designs there.
The latest: Ikea completed and donated the small home to Towne Twin Village and is working with the supportive housing community to select a resident, who is expected to move in soon.
- The home incorporates trauma-informed design principles that prioritize healing and safety along with insights from resident focus groups.
Catch up quick: Towne Twin Village, on the far East Side, provides tiny homes for the chronically homeless, with residents paying an income-based fee, typically around $300, to cover rent and utilities.
Between the lines: Ikea spokesperson Carla Soto tells Axios that Ikea was encouraged to launch the project in San Antonio because of the work that's already being done locally, like at Towne Twin Village, and with the support of the Live Oak Ikea team.
- Ikea also furnished three existing units at Towne Twin Village and provided gifts for all residents.
Zoom out: In August, construction began on Four25 San Pedro, an affordable housing project with 25 permanent supportive housing units for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.
- Trauma-informed care provided by SAMMinistries, including case management and on-site clinics, will be a key feature of the housing development.
What they did: To create a model home, the Ikea team created focus groups with Towne Twin Village residents to gather feedback about what they were experiencing. Afterward, Ikea hosted three additional focus group sessions based on walkthroughs of the model.
- Ikea then finalized the design, with adjustments based on the feedback, with San Antonio-based WestEast Design Group.
- The result is a 365-square-foot home with soft furnishings, calming earth tones and maximized vertical space to foster relaxation and recovery.
What they found: Residents shared the importance of a bathtub as a contrast to the showers they might've experienced before in shelters.
- "Something that they really wanted was a bathtub. Just to be able to have a bathtub to soak in and be able to feel that sense of safety and peace and relaxation," Soto says. "So we took that feedback and immediately put that into the design."
What they're saying: Soto says the home was designed with the evolving needs of recovery in mind, offering flexibility throughout.
- "The interior concept for this space was really about trying to design a cocoon, where residents could go in and feel safe and have the ability — with the interiors, and the textiles and the curtains — to really close off from the world when they felt like they wanted to or open up when they felt like they were ready."