Design Session, Spring 2019

Here is a recap of some recent projects that we have been working on this spring:

Holly Street Park + Oregon Hill Park system

We have been working with a designer to imagine some alternative solutions for the Oregon Hill Parks, specifically Holly Street Park. However, we wanted to hear from the community first. We will be releasing a report from our presentation at the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) last Tuesday evening.

A spread from the initially proposed concept plan.

RVA Steaks N More

A concept for a proposed breakfast spot in Highland Park called RVA Steaks N More

RVA Steaks N More requested design assistance in setting up their take out steak shop in Highland Park on Meadowbridge Road. Their motivation is to provide delicious cooked to order meals at economical prices and one hundred percent customer service.

Golden Hammer Awards 2019 are now OPEN!

2019 GOLDEN HAMMER AWARDS WELCOMES NOMINATIONS

Richmond, VA – June 4, 2019 – Historic Richmond + Storefront for Community Design will co-host the Golden Hammer Awards on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at the historic Monumental Church. Nomination information for the 2019 Golden Hammer Awards can be found at historicrichmond.com/2019-golden-hammer-awards. Applications must be submitted before 12:00 p.m. (Midnight) on September 8, 2019. The 2019 Golden Hammer Awards are sponsored by Quinn Evans and Atlantic Union Bank.

Historic Richmond Executive Director Cyane Crump said, “We are thrilled to celebrate the projects bringing new life to our historic built environment and the impact they have on our neighborhoods and community. The Golden Hammer Awards aligns with the mission and values of both Historic Richmond and Storefront for Community Design. We are excited to continue this partnership for the third year!”

Projects completed after January 1, 2018 located in the greater Richmond area (City of Richmond, counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico) will be considered for the categories of: Best Restoration, Best Adaptive Reuse, Best New Construction, Best Placemaking, and Best Residential.

“With over 30 submissions last year, and the high quality of work, craftsmanship, and the scale of the nominations, we were delighted to award 10 Golden Hammers!” said Ryan Rinn, Executive Director of Storefront for Community Design. “Teamwork and partnerships have always been critical to preservation and placemaking in Richmond and we look forward to another year of high quality submissions.”

Contact:
Katherine McDonald, (804) 643-7407
kmcdonald@historicrichmond.com
Ryan Rinn, (804) 322-9556
ryan@storefrontrichmond.org

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About the Golden Hammer Awards. The Golden Hammer Awards were started in 2000 with a goal of honoring excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects thought Greater Richmond. In 2018, 10 projects were awarded the coveted Golden Hammer Award designed by Richmond artist Jason Adkins. Winners included the Richmond Ballet, 1717 Innovation Center, Jefferson Green Condominiums, Monroe Park, the Institute for Contemporary Art, 125 N. 25th Street, 2013 & 2015 Venable Street, Holly Lawn, Main Street Station Train Shed, and Ellwood Thompson’s the Round Building.

About Storefront for Community Design. Storefront for Community Design is Richmond, Virginia’s nonprofit design resource center. Storefront improves the quality of life in the city by facilitating access to planning and design resources. Storefront matches professional designers who volunteer their time with members of the community to uncover Richmond’s urban potential. Visit storefrontrichmond.org, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @StorefrontRVA.

About Historic Richmond. Historic Richmond is a non-profit organization dedicated to shaping the future of Richmond by preserving our distinctive historic character, sparking revitalization and championing our past and future architectural legacy. We are champions of the past and passionate fans of its future. Visit HistoricRichmond.com, join us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram @historicRVA.

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Awards Ceremony

Thursday, October 24, 2019
Monumental Church
1224 E. Broad Street
Reception & Awards 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion Exhibition To Open February 14

A new exhibition debuting on Valentine’s Day will conceptually reimagine Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue. Opening at the Valentine on February 14, this exhibition follows the Valentine’s Monumental: Richmond’s Monuments (1607-2018), which examined the role and context of more than 40 monuments in and around the city.

Titled Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion, this new exhibition is the result of a multi-year collaboration with the Storefront for Community Design and the mOb studiO at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts.

“In keeping with our mission, the Valentine listened to the debate taking place in the wider Richmond community concerning monuments and what they mean to us today, and we responded with Monumental,” said Valentine Director Bill Martin. “We are excited to take this concept of important and timely community conversations a step further by hosting an exhibition that asks us to question the future of Monument Avenue.”

Last year, the Valentine, Storefront and VCUarts mOb studiO applied for and received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to host an international design competition, which invited teams of planners, architects, designers, artists and individuals to conceptually re-imagine Monument Avenue.

“We received 70 proposals from architectural firms, centers of higher education, artists and many others,” said Camden Whitehead, mOb studiO co-founder and an associate professor of interior design at VCUarts. “We hope that the diverse ideas on display in this exhibition at the Valentine will demonstrate the unique power of design to serve as a catalyst for community discussion and contribute to the important dialogue about race, memory, the urban landscape and public art.”

Submitted concepts will be featured in the exhibition at the Valentine. A jury will also review the submissions and select finalists. The winning concepts, including a People’s Choice Award, will be announced on November 21 at a closing reception hosted at the Valentine.

As part of related programming, exhibition organizers are in the process of planning two community conversation events.

Additionally, from February 16 to April 20, the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design will host the results of a similar design competition specifically for Richmond students in an exhibition titled Monumental Youth.

“The Branch Museum is excited to have the Monumental Youth exhibition in our galleries, as it gives a voice to young people tackling large design ideas in thoughtful and exciting ways,” said Branch Museum Executive Director Penny Fletcher. “In addition, it addresses a pressing design challenge confronting our community and many others – how can we make public spaces, designed a century or more ago, relevant and accessible today? We are proud to be showcasing this important and contemplative work from students in and around Richmond. The Branch Museum is dedicated to bringing exciting and challenging design thinking to our community, and the students represented in this exhibition have done that beautifully.”

Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion closes at the Valentine on December 1, 2019.

Finalists will be notified on the opening day of the exhibition at the Valentine.

You can read more about the exhibition and competition on our feature on NextCity.

Submission Deadline: Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion

Submission Deadline December 1, 2018 at 11:59PM EST!

With less than two weeks remaining for submissions for the national competition, we want to remind you to register and/or submit your vision reimagining Monument Avenue and participate in a design ideas competition to facilitate constructive dialogue around the historic street, Confederate history, urban planning, and public art. 

Or, if you know anyone who you think might be interested, connect them to the competition!

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We are concurrently running a high school ideas competition called Youth Monumental to design and model the next monument for Monument Avenue. Any high school student from around the Richmond Region are invited to submit their design and model/sculpture of the next monument on Monument Avenue. Submissions are due December 15.

More information about the high school competition, submissions, requirements, and an upcoming workshop at the Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) can be found at www.monumentavenuegdgd.com/youth

Golden Hammer Awards this Thursday, November 1!

Historic Richmond and Storefront for Community Design are excited to partner again to host the 2018 Golden Hammer Awards honoring architectural preservation and neighborhood revitalization in the greater Richmond area.

Join us THIS THURSDAY from 6pm to 8pm at Monumental Church (1224 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia) as we recognize professionals working in neighborhood revitalization, blight reduction, and historic preservation in the Richmond region!

With over 30 nominations submitted, specialty cocktails by Belle Isle Moonshine you wont want to miss this event! Purchase your tickets today!

Free parking: Virginia Department of Transportation Parking Lot located at 1401 E. Broad Street

Golden Hammer Awards 2018

Historic Richmond + Storefront for Community Design will co-host the Golden Hammer
Awards for the second year on Thursday, November 1, 2018 at the historic Monumental Church. Call for submissions will close September 15.

Historic Richmond Executive Director Cyane Crump said, “As Richmond-area nonprofits with interests in historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization, we are delighted to co-present the awards to recognize professionals working in neighborhood revitalization, blight reduction and historic preservation in the Richmond region.” Projects completed after January 1, 2017 located in the greater Richmond area (City of Richmond, Counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico) will be considered for the categories of: Best Restoration, Best Adaptive Reuse, Best New Construction, Best Placemaking and a new category Best Residential focusing on single-family projects.

“With over 45 submissions last year, we are excited to see which projects in the area will be nominated,” said Ryan Rinn, Executive Director of Storefront for Community Design. “Teamwork and partnerships have always been critical to preservation and placemaking in Richmond and we look forward to another year of high quality submissions.”

We are open for submissions and the portal will close September 15, 2018 at midnight. Applications for the 2018 Golden Hammer Awards can be submitted through Historic Richmond's website.

6PIC turns 1!

6PIC's one year anniversary is June 6th! Come say Happy Birthday!
Join us on Wednesday, June 6th 5:30-8:00 for food, dancing, door prizes and 6PIC updates!

Can't meet us? There are still ways to support 6PIC and youth empowerment in Highland Park. Storefront for Community Design is celebrating 6PIC’s 1-year birthday by working to secure many more years of youth empowerment and community ownership in Highland Park.  
 
Join our 100x100 Challenge this June to raise funds for 6PIC’s operating costs (think: power, water, Internet + the amazing people that keep it running seamlessly every day).

It’s easy: be one of 100 people to give $100* to Storefront, so we can keep the 6PIC goodness flowing for years to come.
 
www.6picrva.org/donate/


*Any amount is much appreciated—we just like round numbers.  

Golden Hammer Awards !

Are you interested in learning more about the nominations for the Golden Hammer Awards this year? Now that the application is closed, we are taking inventory of the amazing range of projects that were nominated for the Golden Hammer Awards. Stay tuned this month as we reveal more about the event. 

If you didn't get the chance to nominate a project, please make it out to the two big events on November 2nd.

The Awards Ceremony will be held on November 2nd, 2017 at Monumental Church from 6pm to 8pm. Tickets to the event are $20 and can be purchased via email from our partners at Historic Richmond: info@historicrichmond.com/

Luckily, the night doesn't end there! From 8:15-10, Storefront will be hosting a Golden Hammer Awards After Party bonanza at the Valentine Museum. A $100 ticket's proceeds go straight to Storefront for Community Design and will buy your entry to an evening at the Valentine Museum and Wickham Garden, a dj, an open bar, and a specialty cocktail designed for the event: The Golden Hammered. 

If you would like to support Storefront programming and the Golden Hammer Awards, please purchase a ticket via our Donate page and choose the $100 Golden Hammer After Party Ticket option. You can also buy a ticket over the phone (804.322.9556) or via email (hello@storefrontrichmond.org)

See you on November 2nd!

Stonestreet Diamond Sign gets a facelift

The Stonestreet Diamond Sign at 209 East Broad Street is getting a updated with the help of the mOb Studio. Students in the studio worked individually to discover new material and surface treatments for acrylic. On Friday, they worked together in teams to layer the new faces of the sign with stenciled shapes and the building address. They carefully choreographed their movements around each other and the wet paint in order to shield overspray and avoid scuffing recently painted motifs.

Golden Hammer Awards Submission Deadline!

Make sure you submit your application in to the Golden Hammer Awards this Sunday before midnight!

If you don't have a project to submit, join us for the awards on Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 and the After Party hosted by Storefront at the Valentine. More details to come!