24-018 Nyoti Center for Healing
The Nyoti Center for Healing is a project of Friends of MISSSEY, supporting the mission of MISSSEY to serve youth impacted by sexual exploitation and trafficking. The Oakland center will offer a safe, welcoming, and confidential environment for counseling, support services, and community programming that help youth build lives free from harmful transactional relationships in a setting designed to foster healing and opportunity.
Our team's proposed design transforms an aging former church and community hall into a thoughtful, refreshed, open sanctuary space that will service its greater Oakland community. The project aims to strengthen an established site for service and care while continuing a long-standing commitment to the neighborhood. The design emphasizes privacy, safety, and respect for the surrounding residential community, ensuring confidentiality for clients while minimizing noise and visual impacts for neighbors.
Architecturally, the building reflects the character of the neighborhood through warm natural materials, a welcoming scale, and forms inspired by nearby Craftsman homes. New trees, planting areas, and outdoor spaces also enhance the streetscape and contribute to neighborhood livability.
Together with additional planned community services and programs to be offered across the site’s other existing buildings and outdoor spaces, MISSSEY's Nyoti Center for Healing will strengthen neighborhood connections, expand access to essential resources, and serve as a lasting source of care, support, and opportunity for the community.
Environmental Justice
The project is proposed to be all-electric, incorporating a roof-mounted photovoltaic array, and emphasizing low-embodied-carbon construction and reduced energy use through natural lighting and efficient mechanical, plumbing, and lighting systems. Engineered wood siding will be manufactured from 100% sustainably sourced wood fibers, which also supports long-term durability and reduced maintenance needs.
Programming & Layout
To map out the Center's programming needs, our team created space layout and adjacency diagrams, which help visualize space planning in preliminary visioning sessions. The diagram to the left shows the relationship between all the spaces on the second floor of the Center - while the modular graphic below visualizes the floor layout and tests the rooms in 3D to make sure the total volume fits within the building envelope.
What does MISSSEY do?
MISSSEY is an Oakland-based organization that prevents sexual exploitation of girls and gender-expansive youth, supports those experiencing it to exit, and partners with survivors to heal, rebuild, and live free from harmful relationships. Feldman Architecture is proud to work with Friends of MISSSEY on the Nyoti Center for Healing as part of our studio's larger Charitable Giving initiative, where we strive to uplift and serve the communities we live and work in through pro bono design.
