Story by: Carolyn Heinze
STORYTELLING LIES AT THE HEART OF A CALIFORNIA CHURCH-BASED COFFEEHOUSE DESIGNED WITH A CAUSE
WE ALL HAVE “A-HA!” MOMENTS WHEN IT BECOMES CLEAR HOW WE’RE GOING TO OVERCOME WHAT SOMETIMES SEEM LIKE IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGES. FOR BLAKE RYAN, EVERYTHING BECAME CLEAR DURING A VISIT TO A COFFEE ROASTING FACILITY.
As volunteer director of the Corona Norco Rescue Mission in Corona, Calif., Ryan’s challenge was to help the homeless in a meaningful way. As principal at PlainJoe Studios, a design firm also based in Corona, his aim was to build a facility that would serve as the vehicle through which the program’s homeless —“students” in the rescue mission’s language—would gain the tools to rediscover their value, and reintegrate into society.
