With a goal to transform the Martin Luther King Medical Center into an urban family-health campus, NAC was commissioned to replace an aging facility with a new three-story Wellbeing Center. This first-of-its-kind healing place in south Los Angeles’ Wilmington neighborhood provides enhanced outpatient clinical services for at-risk pediatric and adolescent patients and their families.

To accommodate the new center’s diverse array of services, a concierge system helps to check-in patients and manage their experience from arrival through treatment and check-out. The ground floor houses a clinic serving foster youth, designed to be open and transparent and minimize a sense of intimidation and anxiety associated with accessing public healthcare. On the second floor, the comprehensive Autism Wellness Center—the first of its kind in California—connects to an outdoor calming garden designed to buffer patients from the busy neighborhood. On the third-floor, a Family Justice Center serves people experiencing domestic violence and other unsafe situations. Ensuring safety, a careful entry sequence via dedicated elevators facilitates security from the first floor.