Gladys Ly-Au Young
Partner, Side x Side Architects
Gladys Ly-Au Young is a founding partner of the Seattle firm, Side x Side Architects (formally SKL Architects). SxS is working on changing the practice as normal by broadening the spectrum of architectural services, to promote community focused design that supports equity and sustainability in the built environment. Gladys’ work is focused on the under-served population in the mission-driven sectors, including affordable housing, community and cultural spaces, K-12 education, and social supportive services. She is known for creating engaging, uplifting, energy efficient and toxic-free community landmarks, including the White Center HUB Community Center and Housing, Othello’s U-lex Limited Equity Cooperative Homeownership housing, and Friends of Little Sài Gòn Cultural and Economic Center. She has been practicing architecture at the intersection of design, sustainability, and equity for 30 years.
Gladys served on Living Future’s organizational equity technical advisory group and has been an incredible partner to Living Future. Her commitment to healthy materials in affordable housing, combined with in-depth research and creative sourcing strategies, have significantly contributed to Living Future resources (such as the Affordable Housing Materials List and Best Practices Guide for Red List Free Affordable Housing). Her work is influencing many current and future projects to provide healthier environments for residents and their communities.
What is the most important thing the Living Future community can do right now?
“It is important to build a community, an ecosystem of care, focusing on transformational changes. Those changes require us to not only ask what the biggest impact is but who is impacted the most.”