Renderings of Before & After My Design Proposal |
After the catalyst installation we created in Sherman Park, the final goal was to look at the injustice we had been studying all semester and apply what we learned from creating something for someone else to a bigger scale.
I went back to Center Street, a few blocks North of where the installation was created, and looked at trying to repair the grammar of the architecture on the main street once again. I based my building around the same kind of façade as the building next-door, which was abandoned. This new intervention would be a community center that would be an ideal space to share knowledge within the community, and represent the community. The whole idea was to create a small library on the first floor with desks for kids and teenagers to do homework, and a lounge area on the second floor for neighborhood residents to have an indoor place to hang out, conversate or read a book. What I did to maximize this community aspect was push-back the front of the building and create a courtyard in front. This would keep the language of the architecture, but provide an outdoor space where people can paint on the blank walls of the adjacent buildings, enjoy fresh air, or a cup of coffee. In fact, a lot of this building is meant to encourage creative acts like painting. Like I mentioned, kids are encouraged to paint on the blank walls outside, but I thought that it would be really cool if they could express their ownership inside too on those walls. I also added a wooden structure over the courtyard to not only provide some shade during hot summers, but to also increase the diversity of the space. There are different heights to the beams and I think it does a good job of peaking interest and getting people to come explore what is inside of their community building. The hope for this community building would be that it serves as another catalyst to get people invested in this part of the neighborhood. If that investment spreads, then I think the revitalization of this main street could certainly be a few steps away from thriving once again. |