10 | A Vision for the Future
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
From the first impact story that celebrated Storefront’s founding to the last story that detailed a community driven design process, it is evident that Storefront for Community Design’s impact has been witnessed across the City of Richmond. In ten years, our programming has grown from a single design assistance program at a neighborhood level to multiple programs at a city-wide level.
In 2021, Storefront announced the selection of our new Executive Director making this an ideal moment to reflect upon the progress we’ve made and establish a vision moving forward that adapts to the changing landscape of our communities. Over the past six months, we’ve been writing a strategic plan that will be our roadmap through 2025 and we are excited to launch this spring. As we turn our attention to the next 10 years, we asked founding members of Storefront for Community Design and VCUarts mOb studio three questions to highlight past achievements and share their vision for the future of our programming.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: In 2016 FRED (Free Reusable Everything Desirable) was born as a vehicle for connecting communities and dispersing needed items. Camden Whitehead (shown in gold) was challenged to a headstand competition in exchange for items to the community.
From the first impact story that celebrated Storefront’s founding to the last story that detailed a community driven design process, it is evident that Storefront for Community Design’s impact has been witnessed across the City of Richmond. In ten years, our programming has grown from a single design assistance program at a neighborhood level to multiple programs at a city-wide level.
In 2021, Storefront announced the selection of our new Executive Director making this an ideal moment to reflect upon the progress we’ve made and establish a vision moving forward that adapts to the changing landscape of our communities. Over the past six months, we’ve been writing a strategic plan that will be our roadmap through 2025 and we are excited to launch it this spring. As we turn our attention to the next 10 years, we asked founding members of Storefront for Community Design and VCUarts mOb studio three questions to highlight past achievements and share their vision for the future of our programming.
image: a mock bus shelter designed by mOb studio students
Q1: What was the initial vision for Storefront for Community Design and mOb studio?
Design is active and client-based. For design students, it should be local, national, and international. mOb studio and Storefront for Community Design’s collaboration connect Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to the community and allows for students to get closer to where design becomes real and necessary.
- Kristin Caskey
Our vision for Storefront was to form an organization that connected the design community of Richmond with people who might benefit from design resources but were either unaware of those resources or unable to pay for those resources (or both). Storefront was intended to be a trusted, neutral party that was not working for commercial interests or the city, though both developers and the city would often participate in Storefront events.
- Andrew Moore
Initially, I thought Storefront would be primarily a presence at a neighborhood level that would provide access to assistance from design professionals for people who would otherwise not avail themselves of that help for things like addressing code violations/maintenance issues or needing help with ADA-type accessibility.
- Jim Hill
“We hoped to show the community what design is by making public the processes, joys, and habits of designers. We hoped to unleash the power of design to imagine a city that could exist but did not exist at that time. We hoped to become a generator and a center for a growing design community in the city.”
image: collecting community feedback for the beautification of Six Points commercial corridor in Highland Park
Q2: What has been the most impactful contribution that Storefront for Community Design has made to the community?
The General Demotion/General Devotion competition and the Recovery by Design program were both inspirational ways to extend the reach of our mission in an important way. I think, however, that the development of Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) might be the biggest on-the-ground project Storefront has accomplished, for both bricks-and-mortar and programming.
- Jim Hill
Discovering the ways that design can heal racial divides in the City of Richmond. Revealing the superpowers of designers to help the city wonder and to imagine and make visual an environment that does not exist or an environment in need of adjustment.
- Camden Whitehead
Storefront’s largest impact has been to enable individual residents and neighborhoods to have a voice in the city, speaking the language of design. At the individual level, community members have understood how good design, applied to their properties, can benefit both their interests and the larger community. At the neighborhood level, communities have seen how an organized workshop can transform ideas into reality.
- Andrew Moore
Storefront and mOb studio have made a space for students at VCU to live closer to, and better understand their neighbors. A way for students to serve the place and people where they live, and act on projects which expand design into places and lives where it may not have been. Students find that design lives everywhere and is not a reality show. Many of our former mObians find that the impulse to serve and work in community or as collaborators drives what they choose to do for work.
- Kristin Caskey
“It has planted seeds for young designers to step into the profession with a redefined and reawakened understanding of how design can impact needs that aren’t aligned with profit driven motives to better serve humanity.”
image: Andrew Moore volunteering at a community workshop in the Carver neighborhood
Q3: What is one new thing you would like to see Storefront for Community Design achieve in the next 10 years?
A small school of community engaged design, where recent design graduates work with elementary, middle, and high school students to share their superpowers of design and help them identify and undertake projects in Richmond neighborhoods. Also, we need a place/shop that is equipped to prototype and build our work.
- Camden Whitehead
In the next ten years, I would love to see the physical footprint of Storefront expand into other areas of the city, partnering with local neighborhood stakeholders to realize the benefits of good design at a hyper-local level.
- Andrew Moore
“I would like to see Storefront continue to help communities build capacity, but I would really like to see Storefront find a way to mentor students from underserved communities helping them explore design and public service education and career opportunities.”
image: Storefront’s City Builders youth meet with mOb studio to learn about their semester designs. Storefront’s vision for the future includes enhanced design opportunities for youth and young adults.
A huge THANKS to our founders who took time to share experiences and insights with Storefront for Community Design and mOb studio.
Andrew Moore, Senior Principal / Studio Director at Glave & Holmes Architecture, SFCD Founder
Kristin Caskey, Associate Professor, VCUarts Fashion; Design Director, Kloth Studio; mOb studio Founder
Jim Hill, SFCD Founder
John Malinoski, mOb studio Founder
Andrew Moore, Senior Principal / Studio Director at Glave & Holmes Architecture, SFCD Founder
Camden Whitehead, Associate Professor, VCUarts Interior Design, mOb studio Founder
Here’s to 10 more amazing and impactful years!
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to continue connecting community members to design tools and resources. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
09 | Community Driven Design Process
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
A community driven design process aims to create a NetZero hub for the Highland Park Community through Re-Imagining Benefield.
The WHY
In early 2018, Ryan Rinn, then Executive Director of Storefront for Community Design and Nick Cooper, then Director of Citizen HKS, sat down to talk about how two organizations could come together and support a Richmond community in need. Ryan quickly guided the conversation to an under-served community north of the city of Richmond that Storefront had been invested in for years but needed a substantial project and process to continue to empower the youth and serve as a catalyst for change and hope. Re-Imagining Benefield was born.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Stakeholder and community engagement (credit: Citizen HKS)
A community driven design process aims to create a NetZero hub for the Highland Park Community through Re-Imagining Benefield.
The WHY
In early 2018, Ryan Rinn, then Executive Director of Storefront for Community Design and Nick Cooper, then Director of Citizen HKS, sat down to talk about how two organizations could come together and support a Richmond community in need. Ryan quickly guided the conversation to an under-served community on Richmond’s North Side that Storefront had been invested in for years but needed a substantial project and process to continue to empower the youth and serve as a catalyst for change and hope. Re-Imagining Benefield was born.
image: Stakeholder and community engagement (credit: Citizen HKS)
The WHAT
Through a robust community engagement process and a unique co-live/co-work programmatic model that will incubate local businesses on the first floor and provide mixed income; co-living housing above, the project will be the new community center for Highland Park and be a model for similar process transformations across the country.
“Through deep listening, Citizen HKS and Storefront for Community Design have perfectly captured the desires, goals and dreams of the community in Re-Imagining Benefield. Upon completion of the project, it will be a place community members can truly call their own”
image: Stakeholder and community engagement (credit: Citizen HKS)
The HOW
Re-Imagining Benefield is a project designed by the community of Highland Park FOR the community of Highland Park.
“Family, affordable, innovative, community and equitable” were key words that drove the design of the project because they were emphasized by community members of the Highland Park neighborhood through community workshops, town hall meets, interviews, surveys and an overall robust community engagement process that spanned 18 months and continues through the special use permit process today. Storefront for Community Design served as a catalyst for connections and making sure every community stakeholder was heard throughout the process, embodying a true inclusive design process.
Building program catered specifically to the community’s needs and a defining building set back request [preserving the intimate scale of Meadowbridge Road] were key design outcomes established by the community during the engagement process.
image: Existing conditions at Six Points (top image); community vision for Six Points (bottom image - credit: Citizen HKS)
The IMPACT
The Fundamental driver for the planning of the first floor was built on adaptation and growth for the future. Both in terms of youth attaining business acumen but also in terms of spatial flexibility between what exists today and what we can only predict will happen tomorrow as what we define as successful retail will always evolve. The two floors of mixed-income housing above, along with the collaborative working environment housed on the first-floor are significant contributors promoting social equity within the project and for the community as a whole.
Using an existing collection of buildings as the bones of the first floor and the existing character of highland park to influence the addition, the ecosystem of the place has informed the design. Adaptive Re-use in nature is the most resourceful approach to architecture you can take so the project seeks to preserve the historic Spanish Art Deco structure while integrating a maker space, local businesses, and a collaborative workshop space on the first floor. This workshop is planned to serve as a hub for education by being open to the community.
It was important from the outset that we needed to be as environmentally responsible as we were being socially responsible, so a path to NetZero was established as a guiding principle for the work. This is planned to be one of the first NetZero projects in Richmond and will be a place for education around the steps it takes to create a more resilient and sustainable future for all.
image: Key impact numbers
“Re-Imagining Benefield was a project that stood out for engaging the neighborhood in positive discourse on its future, helping to give voice to community concerns, and translating problems into concrete and lasting solutions. Clearly the design team brought a high level of passion and commitment to making a difference”
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to continue assisting with community driven design processes like Reimagining Benefield. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Richmond’s Monument Avenue has been a showpiece of our city’s ambitions since its inception, and a source of controversy for just as long. Designed during the City Beautiful era, its wide boulevard, grassy median, and grand architecture reflect the principles of urban city planning aesthetics, while also celebrating the Lost Cause narrative that fit hand-in-glove with the overt racism of the Jim Crow era. Since then, Monument Avenue has remained a target of strong feelings and, for better or worse, a defining symbol of our city.
Storefront for Community Design began programming efforts focused on Monument Avenue in 2015, following the racially motivated shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Storefront, in partnership with VCUart’s middle Of Broad (“mOb”) studio, sponsored a design education program and panel featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Paul Williams, architectural historian Calder Loth, and Bill Martin, Director of the Valentine.
The issue gained renewed urgency in the summer of 2017, in the wake of the violence of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Storefront, once again in partnership with VCUart’s mOb Studio, decided to take a different approach by engaging not just local Richmonders, but the design community at large to reimagine Monument Avenue.
Storefront proposed a juried design competition, coined “General Demotion/General Devotion”, intended to facilitate constructive discussion about the future of Monument Avenue and guided by the principle that "good design has the power to offer nuanced, multi-layered and hybridized representation of the built environment in places where conventional discussion has failed."
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: General Demotion/General Devotion exhibition at the Valentine
Richmond’s Monument Avenue has been a showpiece of our city’s ambitions since its inception, and a source of controversy for just as long. Designed during the City Beautiful era, its wide boulevard, grassy median, and grand architecture reflect the principles of urban city planning aesthetics, while also celebrating the Lost Cause narrative that fit hand-in-glove with the overt racism of the Jim Crow era. Since then, Monument Avenue has remained a target of strong feelings and, for better or worse, a defining symbol of our city.
Storefront for Community Design began programming efforts focused on Monument Avenue in 2015, following the racially motivated shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Storefront, in partnership with VCUart’s middle Of Broad (“mOb”) studio, sponsored a design education program and panel featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Paul Williams, architectural historian Calder Loth, and Bill Martin, Director of the Valentine.
image: mOb studio design poster for people’s choice voting (left); ballot box at final exhibit at the Valentine (right)
The issue gained renewed urgency in the summer of 2017, in the wake of the violence of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Storefront, once again in partnership with VCUart’s mOb Studio, decided to take a different approach by engaging not just local Richmonders, but the design community at large to reimagine Monument Avenue.
Storefront proposed a juried design competition, coined “General Demotion/General Devotion”, intended to facilitate constructive discussion about the future of Monument Avenue and guided by the principle that "good design has the power to offer nuanced, multi-layered and hybridized representation of the built environment in places where conventional discussion has failed."
Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the competition attracted entries from an international cohort of design teams. Registration opened in April 2018 and concluded at the end of that year. A total of 68 entries were submitted from four different countries and 11 different U.S. states. Concurrent with the juried design competition, the team also sponsored "Monumental Youth," a design workshop curriculum encouraging high school students to re-imagine Monument Avenue.
“It’s a long journey but we think that this particular issue — how do we remember — is really important.”
image: Jurors’ Award for Scale and the People’s Choice
Design Team: Shane Neufeld and Kevin Kunstadt
image: Jurors’ Award for Context
Design Team: Archie Lee Coates IV, Jeff Franklin, Anya Shcherbakova, Phil Gibson, Dillon Kogie
image: Jurors’ Award for Intervention
Design Team: Lori Garrett, Robert Riddle, Neil Walls
image: Jurors’ Award for Programming
Design Team: Pratt Institute Group #2
In 2019, the Valentine Museum hosted an exhibition featuring the 20 top entries as selected by the jury, and the four winning entries were announced in November 2019.
One of the winning entries, from an international team of graduate students at the Pratt Institute, focused on reimagining Monument Avenue as a community engagement corridor, proposing an inclusive series of educational and recreational programming along Monument Avenue. The People's Choice Award, based on more than 2,000 votes cast by visitors to the exhibit at the Valentine Museum, recognized a submission from a Brooklyn-based design team that reimagines Monument Avenue as a Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Memorial.
“Looking at the winners, all of the proposals and the public response, it’s clear that design has a central role to play in moving forward, and this competition is where that difficult work starts. ”
With the removal of the Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue in the last two years, General Demotion/General Devotion has proved to be more than just a speculative exercise. Storefront continues to be engaged in public planning efforts regarding the future of Monument Avenue, and we look forward to helping the community shape what comes next for Richmond’s most iconic thoroughfare.
image: "Monumental Youth," a design workshop curriculum encouraging high school students to re-imagine Monument Avenue (left); design idea from a youth participant (right)
Learn more by downloading a final booklet developed by Storefront for Community Design and the mOb studio detailing the project background, timeline, events, and award winners. A huge thank you goes to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Valentine, and all of our community supporters who made this design competition a success!
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to continue providing design education opportunities like the General Demotion/General Devotion design competition. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
07 | Building a Brave Space
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
How it Happened
This is the question owner Kelli Lemon found herself asking in 2017 when looking for ways to take her dream of opening a café and make it real. Through a few fateful conversations and connections, Kelli was introduced to Ryan Rinn, Storefront for Community Design’s past Executive Director. Kelli later applied for Design Session, Storefront’s one-on-one low-cost design and planning assistance program. We were able to walk Kelli through a conceptual design study that ultimately helped take her passion and vision and bring it to life.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Kelli Lemon, owner of Urban Hang Suite
“I have secured a building-
and it’s a vanilla box, now what?”
How it Happened
This is the question owner Kelli Lemon found herself asking in 2017 when looking for ways to take her dream of opening a café and make it real. Through a few fateful conversations and connections, Kelli was introduced to Ryan Rinn, Storefront for Community Design’s past Executive Director. Kelli later applied for Design Session, Storefront’s one-on-one low-cost design and planning assistance program. We were able to walk Kelli through a conceptual design study that ultimately helped take her passion and vision and bring it to life.
Interview Part 1: How it Happened
“It was very humbling, it was very inspiring. Storefront facilitates the outcome.”
Reaction to Storefront’s Process
Once Kelli talked through her needs with Storefront, we connected her to a volunteer architecture team (Citizen HKS) who took her through the Design Session process. Storefront volunteers developed concept sketches and precedent images, or mood boards, that would kickstart her process to build her idea into reality.
Interview Part 2: Reaction to Storefront’s Process
“This is a Brave Space, because
we are really challenging the norms…”
The Impact
Urban Hang Suite opened its doors in fall 2018 at the corner of 3rd and Broad Street of downtown Richmond. Today it operates as a social hub for Jackson Ward, the Arts District, and Downtown; an area Kelli endearingly refers to as ‘the 3 corners where culture meet’.
Kelli is grateful that the concept helped her transform that vanilla box into a constant conduit for conversation and connection. She refers to the cafe as a “brave space” that celebrates humanity by embracing diversity. When asked how Storefront was integral to bringing the café to life, Kelli had the following insights:
Interview Part 3: The Impact and What you Should Know about Storefront for Community Design
Storefront is proud to have partnered with Kelli and Citizen HKS. We continue to cheer on the success of Urban Hang Suite where Kelli and her staff are paying it forward by changing the Richmond community one cup of coffee at a time!
About Storefront’s Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance
Storefront’s low-cost design and planning assistance program includes our Design Session Studio and Community Engagement Studio. Since 2011, we have completed over 325 design sessions and over 25 community engagement initiatives. Over the past decade, this program has provided hundreds of Richmonders design and planning assistance at a low-cost that is subsidized by our generous supporters.
Are you a resident, youth or young adult, non-profit organization, neighborhood, or City staff member with an idea and interested to get connected to our low-cost design and planning assistance program? Storefront recently launched a new program menu for our low-cost design and planning assistance program to make it easier for community partners to get involved. Learn more about Storefront’s programs today.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to continue providing low-cost design and planning assistance. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Once an auto body shop, now a youth innovation studio. In 2017, a storefront along a commercial boulevard in Highland Park was transformed into a space for young people to realize their potential, design their ideas, and connect with the community.
The Engagement & Design
After several years of xxx. The goal was to engage with community members about how they might envision the growth of their neighborhood, to describe the resources these organizations offered, and most importantly to eat, dance, and perform in the talent show. With a generous investment from Robins Foundation’s Community Innovation Grant, funding for the renovation of the Boaz & Ruth-owned building was made possible. Awarded in 2015, Storefront collaborated with community partners to create a new space that operates at the intersection of design education and community engagement.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) exterior prior to renovation
Once an auto body shop, now a youth innovation center. In 2017, a storefront along a commercial boulevard in Highland Park was transformed into a space for young people to realize their potential, design their ideas, and connect with the community.
The Engagement & design
After many years of community engagement, Storefront staff and community partners helped build an implementation plan with the Highland Park Quality of Life group. One of the goals of the plan was to “Strengthen Neighborhood Youth” including the specific objectives of establishing a youth steering committee, engaging youth with service opportunities in the community, and engaging youth in academic and leadership activities.
The vision of a youth innovation center soon became a reality. With a generous investment from the Robins Foundation’s Community Innovation Grant, funding for the renovation of the Boaz & Ruth-owned building was made possible. Awarded in 2015, Storefront collaborated with community partners to create a new space that would operate at the intersection of design education and community engagement.
image: youth collaborating with volunteers and community partners to design the 6PIC space
Six Points Innovation Center, which is now well known as 6PIC, was designed by the youth for the youth in a 4,000 square foot building at 3001 Meadowbridge Road. Storefront staff, volunteers, and youth collaborated with a myriad of residents and partners in design, architecture, grassroots, and non-profit organizations to create the vision and design the space for 6PIC. Participants provided an abundance of ideas like filling the parking lot with hammocks for reading, but everyone seemed to agree on one thing: don’t build any walls here.
A video from the early project stage discusses program goals and neighborhood demographics
“It was truly a blessed experience working with the youth and other Executive Directors getting the center funded and up and running. May we continue to be a lighthouse for the youth and the Highland Park area! ”
image: (top) concept sketch of 6PIC’s space; (bottom) 6PIC exterior after building renovation
The Impact
In June 2017, Storefront opened the doors to 6PIC, the first youth innovation center in Richmond. Since then, 6PIC has provided an engaging hub, or coworking space, for community revitalization, youth activities, and non-profit collaboration and has built itself upon being flexible and evolving to meet the needs of the youth and the community. The center has served an average of 20 youth and young adults per day in scheduled youth programming provided by Storefront and partner organizations.
The space has also welcomed organizations, businesses, and city residents to host events and bring people together to incubate ideas. Since 2017, the space has served over 500 community members per year. With the increasing demand for virtual engagement, 6PIC has become a consistent and reliable physical space to gather and engage in the Highland Park neighborhood for youth with the community's support.
“By being actively engaged in youth-friendly spaces, young people can feel like they have investment in their community and they can develop a strong sense of ownership in these places.”
image: 6PIC partners and youth participants pose for a photo outside of the building
“I joined 6PIC at age 16. I learned responsibility and coping skills which helped to prepare me for the real world. It was a comfortable and safe place to go after school.”
“I joined 6PIC in 2017 and participated in almost every program. The space means a lot to me. I have been able to help build and work with my hands and that is the best way for me to learn.”
“I was in 10th grade when I came to 6PIC. I was able to build a relationship with a prominent figure in the city who inspired me to achieve my goals. I wish there were locations like this in every district.”
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to engage youth and communities in strengthening our neighborhoods. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
In 2014, Storefront staff members attended the Association for Community Design’s (ACD) national conference in Detroit. The semiannual ACD Conference seeks to share best practices of community design, build coalitions among practitioners, and facilitate exchanges between national practitioners and local organizations.
As staff met people from across the country involved in community design and learned about strategies other cities were using to engage with their communities, they knew they needed to bring this conference to Richmond. After submitting a proposal to host the 2015 conference, Storefront’s “Neighbors” theme was chosen! The theme sought to bring the focus back to that most basic unit of the community. While learning from other cities is important, the focus on neighbors reminded participants that it is critical to take into account the people of each unique community rather than simply replicate programs of others.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Postcard and flyers developed for the 2015 Association for Community Design Conference
In 2014, Storefront staff members attended the Association for Community Design’s (ACD) national conference in Detroit. The semiannual ACD Conference seeks to share best practices of community design, build coalitions among practitioners, and facilitate exchanges between national practitioners and local organizations.
As staff met people from across the country involved in community design and learned about strategies other cities were using to engage with their communities, they knew they needed to bring this conference to Richmond. After submitting a proposal to host the 2015 conference, Storefront’s “Neighbors” theme was chosen! The theme sought to bring the focus back to that most basic unit of the community. While learning from other cities is important, the focus on neighbors reminded participants that it is critical to take into account the people of each unique community rather than simply replicate programs of others.
image: Presentations, conversations, and events took place throughout Broad Street Arts District and the Jackson Ward neighborhood.
The focus on the unique aspects of community and community design resulted in a conference that was unique and completely Richmond. The conference took place over three action-packed days in June of 2015. Rather than holding all the events in a single conference center, the whole of the Broad Street Arts District and the Jackson Ward neighborhood became the backdrop for the conference. Sessions were held at the historic Hippodrome Theater, the VCU Arts Depot, and local art galleries sprinkled along Broad Street and throughout Jackson Ward. Traversing between events and sessions became a tour of the city itself, giving participants a real opportunity to immerse themselves in Richmond’s historic neighborhoods.
“The ACD Conference in Richmond was one of the most unique and engaging conferences I’ve ever been to. The sessions were great, but the things I remember most were the opportunities to meet people from across the country who were doing amazing things in community design and engage with them on a personal level through the lunch event, community dine-around, and walking tours.”
image: A guide map created for conference-goers to get around the neighborhoods.
The conference included several keynote and breakout sessions led by national leaders in the field of community design including Lisa Nisenson, Co-Founder of Greaterplaces in Washington DC, Archie Lee Coates of Playlab Inc. in New York, and Katie Swenson, previously with Community Enterprise Partners in Boston. Community Dine-Arounds were organized at several neighborhood restaurants giving participants opportunities to try some of Richmond’s delicious local cuisine and get to know other conference-goers in a small-group atmosphere. Walking Tours provided more opportunities to learn about and experience some of the unique neighborhoods that make up the city.
The conference brought together planners, designers, architects, scholars, and community activists from 15 states, 19 major cities, 9 universities, and 8 community design centers. At the same time, it also engaged 7 different local galleries and small businesses that opened their doors to welcome participants and support Storefront. In essence, it was a conversation for our national neighbors by our next-door neighbors to celebrate the joint mission of community design.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to create impactful and consistent programming and events like “Neighbors.” In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
04 | Recovery by Design
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
It all began with a serendipitous ask for a gallery space to host an Annual Art of Recovery Art Show as part of National Recovery Month. The stars aligned when Laura Minnick, Coordinator of Consumer and Family Affairs at Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA), was attending a Board meeting where a colleague mentioned Storefront for Community Design as a potential location to hold the next art exhibit. RBHA reached out to Storefront and a partnership would soon blossom that not only included a one-time art exhibit, but an eight-week summer session for adults with lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
Storefront collaborated with the faculty of mOb studio and RBHA to write two successive National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants that would provide funding to plan, host, and facilitate multiple summer sessions. In March 2014, the journey of discovery and healing began for each of the 43 participants involved in the program.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
It all began with a serendipitous ask for a gallery space to host the Annual Art of Recovery Art Show as part of National Recovery Month. The stars aligned when Laura Minnick, Coordinator of Consumer and Family Affairs at Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA), was attending a Board meeting where a colleague mentioned Storefront for Community Design as a potential location to hold the next art exhibit. RBHA reached out to Storefront and a partnership would soon blossom that not only included a one-time art exhibit, but an eight-week summer session for adults with lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
Storefront collaborated with the faculty of the mOb studio and RBHA to write two successive National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants that would provide funding to plan, host, and facilitate multiple summer sessions. In March 2014, the journey of discovery and healing began for each of the 43 participants involved in the program.
“What a dream! Recovery by Design is a highlight of my career in behavioral health. I believe so much in the arts and when we involve people in other things outside of a typical doctor’s visit, they heal. I saw this happen with this partnership — people blossomed. ”
image: Participants created raw and beautiful visual art
The mOb studio faculty, grads, and students designed the curriculum, organized the supplies, space, and sessions, recorded and led sessions, and created a final publication. “As an individual, I volunteered to create one session of content for each summer program and to teach that session along with numerous volunteers from RBHA, Storefront, and students from the mOb studio,” said Kristin Caskey, Associate Professor in VCUarts Department of Fashion Design + Merchandising, “these were not workshops with one person standing in front of a room, but rather individuals working side by side, having conversations, and following participants’ leads as they made work that communicated their voice.”
One major goal of Recovery by Design was to destigmatize mental illness and substance abuse disorders. By using design and design processes, partners were able to co-create work that was later exhibited to the public, published, and through the process, become friends with some of the participants. Partners and students in the mOb studio were deeply invested and witnessed the power of design as part of the healing process. They saw that a simple task of putting brushes in hands, breaking down barriers, and simultaneously sharing stories and thoughts with those once thought as strangers, would create a collection of special drawings that can be easily flipped into impactful solutions.
One solution can be found on Second Street in downtown Richmond. Kerry Harlow and Miranda Leung, VCU students at the time, were inspired by the art created in the Recovery by Design program. They took the initiative to design and oversee the installation of a billboard that would soon show the work of past participants and provide information for those community members looking for a path to recovery.
image: Students from the mOb studio pose in front of the RBHA billboard designed by participants and mOb students.
Words cannot capture the deep appreciation that we feel towards everyone who participated in this project. Thank you one and all, and especially to our friends in recovery. You are all champions. We thank you for your courage, determination, and the hope that you are spreading to others. We look forward to future partnerships with Storefront for Community Design and the mOb studio! It is our dream to share our experience and the knowledge that recovery does happen.
— Laura Minnick, Richmond Behavioral Health Authority
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to create impactful and consistent programming like Recovery by Design. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Some may say there’s a fluid access to design thinking (and dreaming) in academia that becomes increasingly difficult to tap into as we immerse ourselves in professional practice. At the same time, getting impactful hands-on experience can be a challenge to find in a structured curriculum.
Storefront for Community Design’s partnership with mOb studio through the Design Session Studio program fills this gap and offers students the opportunity to work on innovative projects with the community in the City of Richmond.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Some may say there’s a fluid access to design thinking (and dreaming) in academia that becomes increasingly difficult to tap into as we immerse ourselves in professional practice. At the same time, getting impactful hands-on experience can be a challenge to find in a structured curriculum.
Storefront for Community Design’s partnership with mOb studio through the Design Session Studio program fills this gap and offers students the opportunity to work on innovative projects with the community in the City of Richmond.
In 2012, three friends and VCUarts professors, Kristin Caskey, John Malinoski, and Camden Whitehead, founded mOb studio, VCUarts' experimental design lab, uniting their respective departments of Fashion Design, Graphic Design, and Interior Design. With a shared mission of improving quality of life through design, Storefront for Community Design joined forces and moved from it’s 25th Street location to a shared storefront space at 205 E. Broad St.
““This partnership is at the core of the mOb studiO, providing a critical link allowing our students projects and access to people and places in the City of Richmond that most students and faculty could not access””
image: Camden Whitehead, John Malinoski and Kristin Caskey scope out a new home for mOb studio + Storefront in the early days.
Besides getting experience managing projects and forming community connections, it also serves as a primer for living in the city, how it works and the vast opportunities it affords. The program centers around understanding the power of design to constructively shape the city and offers students a model for alternative career paths in design. “This partnership is at the core of the mOb studiO, providing a critical link allowing our students projects and access to people and places in the City of Richmond that most students and faculty could not access” describes Whitehead.
Each semester, Storefront staff and mOb studiO faculty come together to identify projects and teams. Small student teams works directly with their community collaborator (client), a design practitioner as a mentor, and are supported by mOb faculty and Storefront staff.
Project Highlight: Shalom Farms’ Pop-Up Market
In 2015, Shalom Farms, a local organization addressing healthy food insecurity, asked mOb to design an alteration to their van to be used for pop-up markets bringing healthy food to different neighborhoods. Staff recently caught up with Colleen Brennan, a mOb alum who led the mOb team in designing a functional pop-up market van.
image: Concept for breathable fabric baskets, grommets allow the baskets to be easily removed for washing.
Image: Concept for “Lazy Susan” shelves
“mOb totally changed my career trajectory. I was on a path to becoming an artist/furniture maker when I joined the studio. But, I was introduced to the field of landscape architecture and urban design through mOb and was so energized by that kind of collaborative, public work.”
Like many, Brennan found her way into mOb as a Crafts major looking for more connectivity. "I really craved more collaboration and interdisciplinary work than I was getting in the fine art school, and I wanted to work more directly in the public realm through socially-engaged design" shared Brennan.
“Shalom Farms' work addresses healthy food insecurity, which was an issue that really interested me as it bridges the landscape, urban infrastructure, and the body scales. The graphic designers on the team did an amazing job with a branding package and educational signage for the farm, while the rest of the team worked on a pull-out shelving system to transform the van into a market.”
Brennan recently graduated with a Masters of Landscape Architecture and joined a landscape architecture firm in Durham, NC called Surface 678. When asked how she’d describe mOb, she says “it’s like an interdisciplinary design studio...but we wear tyvek suits when we do things together.”
Image: mObjOB 7—FRED (Free Reusable Everything Desirable) with Aberrant Architecture
Project Highlight: Tyvek Suits and FRED
You may be wondering “what are tyvek suits?” The suits are a purposeful unifying tool and show up at public mOb happenings like mObjOb, a bi-annual design-build initiative led by a visiting designer. For example, in 2016 mObjOb was held and FRED (Free Reusable Everything Desirable) was born as a vehicle for connecting communities and dispersing needed items.
mOb alum An Liu shared his memories on this project with us: “Building FRED is a whole team effort. We had architect Kevin Haley from Aberrant Architecture, a London based architecture studio. For the first time, I was able to truly collaborate with all the mObians from different majors and different expertise.” When building was complete, the studio paraded FRED to nearby neighborhoods wearing their signature suits.
“Time flies, many years passed, but FRED is still around, it has been turned into other forms to serve the communities. That mission, the secret mission of making this planet a better place for all lives to live is growing in my heart, day by day” says Liu. An Liu is currently a concept-driven designer at SMBW, a Richmond-based architecture and design firm, and adjunct faculty in the Department of Interior Design at VCUarts.
Image: mObjOB 7—FRED (Free Reusable Everything Desirable) with Aberrant Architecture
““Time flies, many years passed, but FRED is still around, it has been turned into other forms to serve the communities. ”
mOb has over 200 alumni now who are well into their design trajectories and frequently come back to serve as mentors for mOb prOjects and other initiatives. We asked alums to share their memories and how mOb has changed their design practice:
“Learning how to design WITH communities instead of FOR them. I always ask myself that in my studio practice now. This slight shift has changed how I compose myself as a designer.”
“Designing the website to connect black expecting mothers with health professionals... That project taught me that even though it's a website, it's still a space and that knowledge in one area is always applicable to others.”
—Don Petties, mObian, 2021
“Showing up in our mob suits in Harrisonburg to install bamboo installations over the creek... In a world that can be so easily clouded by negativity mob always reminds me that positive solutions are out there!”
—April Zammit, mObian, 2016
“I remember making a skirt out of folded brown construction paper... it reminded me of model making for a space. The folds and seams add structure to fabric the same way folds and joinery add structure in furniture making / building making… changed the game for my brain”
—Emily Yenke, mObian, 2013
“When we filled the rams in recovery space with beanbag chairs. Sitting in a new way helped people overcome shyness and become generally more open in that space.”
—Thomas Kennedy, mObian, 2018
If you are an alum that would like to stay involved, with mOb studio, sign up as a Design Session volunteer and let us know if you’d like to be a mOb mentor!
We need your support!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront and the mOb studio to create innovative solutions WITH communities across Richmond. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
02 | Ms. Thompson's Kitchen
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Ms. Mary Thompson has lived in her Church Hill home for 69 years and invested long-term in the community to energize and inspire residents to advocate for positive change. She remembers Church Hill as a beautiful community with vibrant local businesses like the ice cream shop and bakery that disappeared over time as urban blight increased. Ms. Thompson was serious about bringing change to her neighborhood and was committed to collaborating with non-profits, community developers, and community partners to create a vision shaped by community voice.
Storefront for Community Design was lucky enough to have Ms. Thompson as a founding member who brought her experience and voice to the table as the organization began working in Richmond’s East End. Throughout Storefront’s early years, she continued to be an advocate for our mission and even used our design and planning services to help create a vision to remodel her kitchen.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Ms. Thompson in her Church Hill home
Ms. Mary Thompson has lived in her Church Hill home for 69 years and invested long-term in the community to energize and inspire residents to advocate for positive change. She remembers Church Hill as a beautiful community with vibrant local businesses like the ice cream shop and bakery that disappeared over time as urban blight increased. Ms. Thompson was serious about bringing change to her neighborhood and was committed to collaborating with non-profits, community developers, and community partners to create a vision shaped by community voice.
Storefront for Community Design was lucky enough to have Ms. Thompson as a founding member who brought her experience and voice to the table as the organization began working in Richmond’s East End. Throughout Storefront’s early years, she continued to be an advocate for our mission and even used our design and planning services to help create a vision to remodel her kitchen.
Staff and founding members recently visited with Ms. Thompson to discuss her experience with Storefront and see her kitchen project that was first envisioned through Storefront’s Design Session Studio program. Burt Pinnock, Founding Member and Design Session volunteer, worked with Ms. Thompson to develop a vision and design that she could take to local hardware stores and contractors to select materials and finalize details.
Click on the audio link below, or download the transcript, to learn about Ms. Thompson time with Storefront for Community Design and discover how her kitchen went from an idea to reality.
image: Founding members (from left to right) Lane Pearson, Cynthia Newbille, Mary Thompson, and Burt Pinnock
image: It may have been many years since the vision was first drawn, but Ms. Thompson still thanks Burt Pinnock, Design Session volunteer, for helping to bring her idea to reality
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to provide low-cost design and planning services like Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
01 | Storefront is Born
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Sometime in 2009, Storefront Founding member Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, received a call from Cynthia Newbille, 7th Voter District Council Representative. The Old and Historic District (O&HD) had been expanded in her district and she wanted to figure out how to bring design services to her constituents, many of whom lived below the poverty line. With the added design overlay of an O&HD, things like adding a ramp or replacing windows became that much more complicated for community members. Local design professionals and community members were aware of community design centers in other cities and recognized the need for something similar here in Richmond.
The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) was instrumental in facilitating the community dialogue that led to the creation of Storefront for Community Design. Additional founding Partners included community members, affordable housing developers, City of Richmond Planning and Economic Development departments, members from VCU’s Urban and Regional Planning program, and practicing architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and preservationists.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Ribbon cutting on February 14, 2011
Sometime in 2009, Storefront founding member Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, received a call from Cynthia Newbille, 7th Voter District Council Representative. The Old and Historic District (O&HD) had been expanded in her district and she wanted to figure out how to bring design services to community members, many of whom lived below the poverty line. With the added design overlay of an O&HD, things like adding a ramp or replacing windows became that much more complicated for community members. Local design professionals and community members were aware of community design centers in other cities and recognized the need for something similar here in Richmond.
The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) was instrumental in facilitating the community dialogue that led to the creation of Storefront for Community Design. Additional founding Partners included community members, affordable housing developers, City of Richmond Planning and Economic Development departments, members from VCU’s Urban and Regional Planning program, and practicing architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and preservationists.
“To have this resource and to have extraordinary talent be available to the community through Storefront and its offering has been a game changer.”
image: Workshops and community conversations to envision Storefront
It is interesting to look back at how many different possibilities were explored in the creation of Storefront, including the potential to operate as a formal program of the City or VCU, as an extension of an existing non-profit, or even as an affiliate of a neighborhood civic association. There were conversations with, and even field trips to, established community design centers.
With a vote of confidence from the City Council, Storefront was founded on February 14, 2011, in the East End of Richmond on 25th Street. Storefront set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city” by providing pro bono and low-cost design and planning assistance to support local businesses, residences, organizations, and neighborhoods. In hindsight, Storefront’s lack of a formal affiliation with an existing entity was a blessing as we quickly became recognized as a convener of community voice with no allegiance other than to the communities we serve.
Since 2011, Storefront has completed over 350 low-cost design and planning projects and over 15 design education series/projects with an estimated value of donated services well over $950,000.
image: Move-in day to Storefront’s original office on 25th Street.
“Storefront has benefitted from foundation support and critical funding from the City, along with generous donations from individual supporters. However, the need for Storefront in the community far exceeds our financial resources. It is amazing to see what we have accomplished over the last decade, but even more amazing to think about what we could do in the next ten years with more financial support. ”
We need your support!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to create community impact across Richmond. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
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