Rebuilding Altadena: Collective Action and Creative Solutions After the Eaton Fire

A look into Omgivning’s Rebuild Efforts, including historic house relocation, community partnerships, and resources for families navigating recovery.

Rebuild Efforts

We understand that a home is more than just a structure, it is a place of memories, comfort, and belonging. The loss of a home is a profound and deeply personal experience, and we recognize the emotional and logistical challenges that come with rebuilding.

Close to Home

Our personal connection to the people and communities affected by the Eaton Fire fuels our drive to help rebuild the homes that were lost. Friends and colleagues were directly impacted, and we've even offered söm co-space as a place for those in need of a temporary workspace.

Rebuilding Together

We established a coalition of over 25 professionals—a focused group of architects and designers sharing resources and knowledge. Given the unprecedented scale of the rebuilding need, architects are stepping up with ideas to make the process better, faster, and more efficient.

Highlights from our coalition include:

Hunter Knight, Weather Projects: Created a homeowner resource guide on the design and construction process.

Amy Sims, Helmerson Sims: Applying decades of prefab experience to streamline rebuilds.

Tim Vordtriede, Altadena Collective: Organizing collective bargaining and community rebuilding.

Michael Anderson, AIA-NOMA, Altadena Rapid Housing Solution: Advocating for immediate, dignified, and sustainable housing solutions.

Morgan Sykes Jaybush, Omgivning: Piloting a model to relocate historic houses from across LA to burned Altadena lots.

So many of us are involved in different causes, studies, and volunteer groups. Sharing knowledge has been invaluable. We believe in the strength of the collective to meet this widespread need.

The Collective and the Individual

We are exploring how to blend the needs of individual homeowners with the advantages of collective action. While most homeowners are constrained by insurance payouts and rising construction costs, we’re working to provide:

Cost savings through bulk material purchasing and grouped general contractors

Efficient planning by avoiding repeated work

Tailored solutions that meet each homeowner’s budget, timing, and vision

Adaptive Reuse, Innovation, LA County, Revitalization