Storefront for Community Design inspires equitable community-driven design through our innovative design education programs including low-cost design and planning assistance and design workshops. Check out our November Notes from the Field to learn about recent updates from our programs.
City Builders Design Workshop
We convene project-based learning opportunities that focus on real world issues in the built environment and encourage youth and young adults to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities. Learn more about City Builders Design Workshop.
image: Thank you to our generous donors!
Fall Session
Tis the season to be thankful. Thank you to all of our generous donors for assisting us in reaching our September fundraising goal for our Youth Innovation Studio! Thanks to you, we were able to kickstart our programming this fall.
The City Builders Design program launched in October with a focus on creating solutions for healthy food access in the city. We have begun our education and discovery phase to learn more about the challenges in our community.
In October we welcomed Ebony Walden, Urban Planner, Consultant, and Creator of the Richmond Racial Equity Essay project. During her visit, youth participants had the opportunity to learn about the history of urban planning in Richmond and completed a community planning analysis to identify the needs of the Highland Park community. Later this semester, they will be digging deeper into the challenges of food accessibility for residents in Richmond as we learned that five out of five residents surveyed did not have access to a grocery store within walking distance. Of the five residents interviewed, only one had access to a car.
image: Participants in the City Builders Design program complete an analysis to identify the needs of the community
Design Session
We provide community members design and planning assistance at an intimate, approachable level including one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals. Learn more about Design Session.
Shelters for RVA Community Fridges
Earlier this fall we met with RVA Community Fridges to brainstorm ideas for a fridge and pantry shelter. Volunteer architect John Spain designed concepts for a site in the Southside while a mOb studio team has been developing a modular shelter system that can be used for various fridge locations across the city.
image: Site visit with RVA Fridges' Qui Nguyen and volunteer John Spain
image: Initial modular shelter sketches by mOb studio
mOb teaches (elementary) design!
This semester mOb studio teaches design to...5th graders! and vice versa. One of this semester's projects is a partnership with an art class at Highland Spring Elementary. With the help of the full studio and Storefront volunteers we shared the design process over 3 workshops assisting students to design lanterns for InLight's 2021 parade.
mOb studio: project call!
Do you have a project that would benefit from a conceptual design exploration this spring? Are you willing to collaborate with a student design team? mOb studio has space for a few more projects next semester! Potential outcomes may be: ideas, strategies, visual research (examples), plan (layout, aerial view), conceptual rendering, materials suggestions. You can submit a project for design assistance and check "mOb studio" at the bottom.
image: Blurry but accurate glimpse of our last workshop with Highland Springs Elementary students
Community Visioning
We provide community-based design and planning assistance that inspires community members to take action, leverage their creativity, and realize a shared vision that strengthens our neighborhoods. Learn about Community Visioning.
Highland Grove Community Engagement
This fall, Storefront kicked off a community engagement initiative with Better Housing Coalition (BHC) and community partners to receive feedback from residents, homebuyers, and local businesses on the Highland Grove community plan. Highland Grove is a 33-acre, true mixed-income subdivision encompassing the redevelopment and revitalization of the former Dove Court and Carrington Gardens Northridge public housing complexes and Virginia National Guard in Richmond’s Northside. This development of attractive single-family homes with a wide range of price points presents the Highland Park community with a unique opportunity to increase homeownership among families of color over the next seven years of the development timeline.
image: Conceptual rendering of the Highland Grove community (credit: Urban Design Associates, 2019)
On October 13, the project team held a kickoff meeting to present a brief overview of the project, discuss the timeline and goals of the community engagement process, and introduce their work and resources. If you missed the meeting and are interested to learn more, you can view on demand. The project team is currently planning two community events on December 6 and December 9 that will provide opportunities for residents to see plans for the community, discover neighborhood greening and design options, and explore opportunities for homeownership. We hope to see you there!
Drop-in for one of the Community Open House Events
Monday, December 6, 2021 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday, December 9, 2021 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
Location: Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC - 3001 Meadowbridge Rd.)
image: Project partners presented at the kickoff community engagement meeting