Bradley Thiergartner’s Commitment to Community
Birch Family Services

“Everybody Deserves to Live in a Beautiful Home”

It was this abiding mantra that drove Benjamin and David to throw their resources and passion into the design of personalized and therapeutic housing for young adults with autism for Birch Family Services. The team was moved by Birch’s ongoing struggles with the design and development of their schools and residential facilities and instinctively knew they wanted to help take the “institution” out of their housing.

In 2009, with minimal funding, favors from generous vendors and a mission, the team helped Birch open a special new facility where they applied their design skills to meet the sensory and physical challenges of the autistic population within a beautiful home setting. In 2011, they made it happen for a second time at The Grove Street Houses in Brooklyn, where another 12 young autistic men also moved into their new “home.” For a population that frequently experiences over-stimulation from their environment, color choices can be critical to well-being. Eye level elements, angles of corners, positioning of interactive vignettes and material choices were other important details to take into account. Say the pair, “We have found the gratitude of the employees of Birch, and most importantly, the young men and their families, to be overwhelming and extremely gratifying. “