News
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Launches Roadmap for 3-year Plan

In May 2022, Storefront for Community Design announced a bold, new vision and a three-year strategic plan. We will firmly focus on transforming our low-cost design and planning assistance programs and expanding our design education programs to inspire community-driven design in the built environment.

This is a living, breathing plan that we will continue revisiting over the months and years ahead. Since kickstarting our plan in July, we've been building an intentional roadmap that prioritizes actions and creates measurable goals. We are excited to share it and begin collaborating with you as we continue to realize our vision.

Storefront Launches Roadmap for 3-year Plan
Community Design Archive, News, Impact Stories
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Each year, Valentine’s Day reminds us to purposefully demonstrate love, care, and support for our families, friends, and communities. This year’s holiday also marks Storefront for Community Design’s 10th anniversary and we want to shout a huge THANK YOU for your support in making our first ten years a success.

Since the beginning, we set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city.” Through partnerships and community collaborations, we continue to discover new ways of seeking Richmond's physical and social transformation through design and community voice. After an incredible ten years, we remain humble, yet excited for the possibilities that lie ahead for our organization, partners, and neighbors.

Our Board of Directors, staff, and partners are excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary throughout the year, so stay tuned for ways to get involved. To kickstart our celebration, here’s a few ways you can show your support today.

  • Donate to Storefront to support our next ten years

  • Volunteer as a Session Designer

  • Share our story with your network

Whether you’ve been with Storefront from the beginning or just a short time, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a look back over the last ten years. Enjoy the memories and accomplishments of our community and we look forward to making many more with you in the coming years. Now, it’s time to celebrate!

Storefront Celebrates 10th Anniversary
News
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Welcomes New Executive Director and ...

Storefront for Community Design is excited to announce the selection of Shawn Balon as its new Executive Director.

Shawn brings a wealth of experience in design, non-profit, and educational environments with expanded knowledge of organizational management and strategic planning. He has the strategic vision necessary to elevate Storefront for Community Design and its programs in the years to come and will bring a creative, innovative, and collaborative approach when working with staff, board members, donors, partners, volunteers, and the community-at-large.

“I appreciate the board’s confidence in me, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such a great organization. It will take innovative and purposeful solutions to create a path for Storefront for Community Design to continue addressing the challenges in our communities, and I look forward to advancing my efforts to focus on the importance of participatory design to honor differences, challenge injustices, and create vibrant neighborhoods,” said Balon.

News, Programs & Projects
Storefront for Community Design
Richmond Magazine: Designs Within Reach

We recently got to share a few projects at mOb studio + Storefront for Community Design with Richmond Magazine and how it all got started. Read the full interview by Taylor Peterson published on Feb 7, 2020.

“Design provides a vision rather than a … volatile position.” —Camden Whitehead, co-founder, Mob Studio

Richmond Magazine: Designs Within Reach

architecture

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Golden Hammer Awards 2019 are now OPEN!

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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.”

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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.

Awards Ceremony

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




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Veils of Ignorance: A Collection of Works 2004-2018

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Burt Pinnock’s Veils of Ignorance: A Collection of Works 2004-2018 is on display this month at the Storefront for Community Design downtown at 205 E Broad Street, Richmond, VA.

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On the one hand: Philosopher John Rawls purports that to develop a truly equitable social contract, we must imagine ourselves behind a veil of ignorance. We know nothing of ourselves, our natural abilities or position in society or sex or race or nationality. We only know that people are simply rational, free and moral. Now create a society.

 

On the other hand: In 1922, the monument of Booker T. Washington Lifting the Veil was dedicated in Tuskegee, Alabama, with an inscription that reads, “He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry.”

 

These projects from architect Burt Pinnock evoke the sentiment of the dropped veil while simultaneously exploring the possibilities that arise when that veil is ultimately lifted. Collectively, they strive, as Booker T. Washington did, to educate and reveal truths about our history and who we are in an effort to get us to John Rawls’ vision of designing a more equitable society. 



On the one hand…
But on the other.




Burt Pinnock, b. 1964, Tuskegee, Alabama
Burt Pinnock is an architect in Richmond whose work evokes the sentiment of the dropped veil while simultaneously exploring the possibilities that arise when that veil is ultimately lifted. Collectively, they strive, as Booker T. Washington did, to educate and reveal truths about our history and who we are in an effort to get us to John Rawl’s vision of designing a more equitable society.

OPENING First Friday

November 2
from 6:30 to 8:30
205 E. Broad Street

Storefront for Community Design + MoB Studio

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Golden Hammer Awards this Thursday, November 1!

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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

Current Design Sessions seeking volunteers!

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The fall season is one of the most robust times for our Design Session program. We are currently seeking volunteers for 4 projects in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design.

Here is a taste of each of the current projects:

A park project, which transforms unused public land in Richmond city into a park that encourages unity in the community, needs a landscape architect as a consultant.

A social enterprise hub and food court concept need interior and architectural conceptual help with the renovations of their warehouse space.

A historic school building seeks help (and muscle) with transforming its ruin into a community park and stage.

A neighborhood community arts center is looking for innovative and low-cost ideas for transforming their existing space into an art gallery for neighborhood artists, youth, and residents.

If you are interested in any of these projects, please email adele@storefrontrichmond.org for more information!

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Golden Hammer Awards 2018

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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.

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Hungry for design volunteer opportunities?

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STOREFRONT IS SEEKING AN ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGNER TO UPDATE A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN

This Design Session is still available

A national meal-providing non-profit has $4000 to spend to update a community kitchen. They need to transition an existing space in a warehouse into a legal commercial kitchen as well as make the space versatile for cooking demonstrations, mass canning and fermentation projects, long term bulk food storage, collective food prep space for this non-profit organization with easy clean up. 

They would like to complete this project as quickly as possible but with no specific timeline.

email Adele (adele@storefrontrichmond.org) for more information or your interest!

 

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Note: to sign up to volunteer, follow this link to complete the form.