Practitioners of the emerging architectural movement called trauma-informed design see buildings as “the first line of therapy.”

Providence at the Heights, or PATH, is a supportive housing facility operated by the prison re-entry nonprofit Second Chance Center; the three-year-old building is filled with apartments for people who have been previously incarcerated.

Designed by the Denver-based architecture firm Shopworks Architecture, the building’s interiors are filled with rich-grained wood beams, offering a calming visual and tactile texture. At first glance, there’s not much here that diverges from standard best practices for any supportive housing project. But there’s an added layer of intentionality and specificity directed toward people who have experienced the criminal justice system.