The Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship

Fellow Profile

Laura Shipman

“The level of leadership and responsibility afforded young designers in the Rose Fellowship acknowledges the innovative and creative solutions that our generation can bring to the community development discussion. And the mentorship network from the host organization, community leaders, practitioners and peer fellows is invaluable to helping us see our work as a collaborative process to catalyze change.”

— Laura Shipman

Fellowship Host:
Community Housing Partnership
San Francisco

Award-winning Community Housing Partnership (CHP) has a reputation for creating sustainable, healthy communities for people who were once homeless. With its emphasis on community building, tenant involvement and innovation, and focus on expansion, CHP has a lot to offer a Rose Fellow. "One of the most tangible projects that I will be engaged in," says Laura Shipman, "is the production of a standardized development manual to document and systematize CHP's design and specification standards. This resource will be critical to streamlining the development process."

To date, Laura has been involved in the development of 120 units of permanent supportive housing designed for formerly homeless individuals. Her work has focused on coordinating an advisory committee of diverse local stakeholders and working to acquire financing, as well as design review.

She splits her time with the Treasure Island Homeless Development Initiative, a former naval base being redeveloped as a sustainable and inclusive community. She has conducted surveys and planning workshops in order to help ensure that residents' needs and preferences are taken into account throughout the planning process.

A Board Member of Design Corps, Laura comes prepared with a master of architecture in urban design with distinction from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a bachelor of architecture from Cornell University School of Architecture, Art and Planning. Laura was awarded the WorldStudio AIGA Scholarship and Grand Prizes (2006/2007 and 2007/2008) and an International Community Service Fellowship from the Harvard Graduate School of Design to work in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa. Her essay "Migrant Housing" appeared in the recent Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism.

See Laura’s Projects

Gallery

(hover over image to zoom)

Laura Shipman
by Treasure Island Community Development
Aerial view of Treasure Island where Laura works with the Treasure Island Homeless Development Initiative. TIHDI works to ensure that the island community is supportive to formerly homeless and low-income residents of the Island through a weekly food pantry, Job broker, and economic self-sufficiency programs as well as festivals and other community activities.
by TIHDI
This Community facilities workshop is one of a series of community planning discussions Laura has facilitated to gather stakeholder input on the Treasure Island redevelopment.
by John Stewart Company
This low density building is the typical housing typology on Treasure Island. For many residents the high density of the redevelopment is overwhelming, therefore TIHDI coordinates regular meetings with island residents to discuss the urban design strategies, sustainable development, and housing design.
by Harry Connoly
Located in the Tenderloin Neighborhood of San Francisco, The Essex is one of six properties that the Community Housing Partnership owns and operates to provide permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless invdividuals and families.