Ember's facilities include a main "hub" building, three large cabins and outdoor recreational spaces, all placed artfully on a site to offer clients a feeling of stability and safety while providing constant opportunities to engage with nature. Natural light flows into all buildings, and outdoor spaces beckon with benches, terraced landscaping, walking trails and green space. A sense of home and shelter is evoked via the prominent use of wood tones, gabled roofs, porches and decks, and comfortable 'living rooms' and bedrooms.  Safety is enhanced with clear visual sightlines for staff on each floor of the cabins and spaces developed with the input of a trauma-informed design consultant.    

Ember's location, while relatively close to other community services, is also secluded enough to give clients the space and structure that trauma-informed care requires. Surrounded by rich farmland, much of the donated land is under a prairie conservation easement, which will protect its natural surroundings in perpetuity. Site planning includes planting measures to stabilize, restore and enrich the prairie land over time. Water treatment infrastructure will treat the agricultural runoff entering the area from nearby farms, and the large pond doubles as a stormwater retention space and a recreational opportunity.