Storefront Welcomes Spring Interns

Storefront for Community Design is excited to welcome spring semester interns to our team. As Design Education Interns, they will help us create the Design Richmond guidebook and coordinate our City Builders Design programming.

Welcome Natalie Díaz! Natalie is currently in the Master’s of Urban Planning program at VCU where she came to know Storefront for Community Design after meeting a staff member who was guest lecturing in her class. After eight years of teaching Spanish, Natalie was ready for change and decided to go back to school. As Design Education Intern, Natalie is collaborating with our team and stakeholders on the creation of the Design Richmond activity book and will lends a hand to the City Builders program.

Welcome Nyka Belotti! Nyka is a two spirit man studying sculpture at VCUarts. He has been an advocate almost all his life and strives to give a voice to the voiceless. As Design Education Intern, Nyka is collaborating with our City Builders Design program as an educator and collaborates to give youth the confidence and tools to change their own city!

Five Ways to Get Involved in 2023

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Are you looking for ways to get involved at Storefront for Community Design in 2023? Check out the following opportunities and consider supporting us in 2023.

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VOLUNTEER FOR UPCOMING COMMUNITY VISIONING events 

We are seeking residents and professionals who are passionate about community voice, equitable design, and collaborative partnerships to volunteer at upcoming community events for the Jackson Ward Community Plan. The next community event will be held on February 11.

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BECOME A DESIGN MENTOR 

We are looking for two qualified design professionals to join our City Builders Design 12-week program in spring 2023. Design mentors will receive a stipend for participation along with the reward of developing the next generation of designers. Learn more and apply by January 13.

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Join our Design Directory

Storefront's Design Directory aims to provide a resource for aspects of design projects that go beyond the scope of our low-cost design and planning assistance programs. Help us build our community of design professionals.

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VOLUNTEER FOR DESIGN SESSION

Are you a professional in the planning and design field and interested to offer conceptual guidance for community-initiated projects? Become a Design Session volunteer and provide assistance at an intimate, approachable level.

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Share your insights

Do you know of a resource that would benefit community members helping to shape our city that should be shared more widely? Help us collect community resources for our toolkit.  

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Top Blog Posts of 2022

This year has been a great one! We celebrated 10 years of impact, enhanced programming, brought on new team members and board members, created a new Advisory Council, hosted a fun Golden Hammer Awards, and built our strategic roadmap for the future. We are extremely grateful for what we have accomplished with our small team, Board of Directors, and community partners. Thank you for helping Storefront for Community Design inspire equitable community-driven design in the built environment.

We've got big things in store for 2023! Until then, we thought it would be fun to share the top read blog posts of 2022. It’s fun to see many of our stories and resources from past years resurface as we adapt to the changing landscape of our communities. Enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

City Builders Share Ideas for Equitable Transportation

image: City Builders Design program participants present ideas for transportation solutions.

Imagine a city where ALL residents have access to shared bike systems, safe streets, improved intersections, multiple modes of transportation, and parklets for outdoor activities. This semester our City Builders Design program participants took a walk through the city to learn about equitable transportation and discover solutions for Richmond. 

Take a walk with us as we venture through our semester of discovery and design!

• Stop 1: History and Policy

  We connected with Kelli Rowan and Brandon King from the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility (OETM) to learn about why transportation matters. We talked about the history and inequitable policies in transportation. They even brought in a RVA Bike Share bike to talk about a new pilot project in the city’s Southside.

• Stop 2: The Design Process

  We discovered the steps of the design process to create signs. We learned how to communicate a message with limited colors, shapes, and graphics to express things universally, just like a STOP sign!

image: Meeting with the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility (OETM) to learn about why transportation matters and learn about RVA Bike Share.

• Stop 3: Reading an Intersection

  We observed the intersection of N 2nd St. and E Broad St. Participants and design mentors created a list from what they observed and discussed the similarities and implications of the different elements in an intersection. We discussed the need for traffic lights, trees and plants, transportation options, crosswalks, and sidewalks.

• Stop 4: Exploring Design Professions

  We visited the Hanbury Community Design Laboratory to tour their office space and learn from architects and engineers in the profession. One of our design mentors, Heather Madden, discussed her job as a Transportation Engineer. She also presented an aerial image of the Richmond Arts District along Broad Street and taught us how to read a map in plan view. 

• Stop 5: Engaging the Community

  We stopped by a GRTC bus stop to speak with community members about their experiences. We learned the importance of listening to bus riders and understanding the different perspectives they have. 

image: City Builders visited Hanbury Community Design Laboratory, a local architecture firm, and learned about design professions.

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image: City Builders designing solutions in preparation for their final presentation.

• Stop 6: Discovering Creative Solutions

  We stopped by the Brook and Marshall mural and parklet project, a recent Golden Hammer Award winner. We talked about the purpose of a parklet, measured the size of it, and learned about the different amenities they may include, like seating and tables.

• Stop 7: Designing a Solution 

  In the last few weeks of the semester, we created teams to design safety solutions for the high traffic area at N 2nd. St. and E Broad Street. City Builders participants collaborated with design mentors to create fun ideas for the intersection.
  
  In the last class, we celebrated our City Builders’ achievements! We held a party where they shared their ideas to board members, parents, design mentors, and community partners.
  
  The first team had a showstopper consisting of bright colored turtles in the crosswalk to caution drivers to slooowww down. They also proposed painting the utility/sewer lids, replacing a few abandoned buildings to create a parking deck, adding greenery to bus stops, and removing trees that were too close to the corners to avoid accidents.
  
  The second team presented the removal of a parking space to create a parklet for Storefront staff, mob students, tourists, and community members. The parklet was designed for meeting space, greenspace, hanging out, and relaxing.
  
  Congrats on an amazing night and semester!

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Thank you Design Mentors and Volunteers!

We share our gratitude to our design mentors and volunteers who have helped our team inspire equitable community-driven design. A huge THANKS goes to Perry, Heather, and Glenn for sharing your talents and architecture/engineering expertise as design mentors (and Jim as our honorary mentor). You made an impact on our City Builders and we appreciate you for that. 

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.

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Storefront’s 3-year Roadmap (Illustration by Siteations, Meg Studer)

Storefront Celebrates Community Impact in 2022

It’s been an amazing year! Our small staff, volunteer base, and scores of community partners incorporated new and creative ways of engagement and problem solving that increase access to design resources and advance equity in the built environment.

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In FY 2022, Storefront for Community Design collaborated on 26 projects that have the power to serve over 92,000 Richmond area residents. We provided volunteer services in our design education and low-cost design and planning assistance programs valuing over $132,000. Check out our FY 2022 Program Impact Report and project impact stories.

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Impact Story 1 | City Builders Design

A Health Empowerment Project

When the Richmond Henrico Health District’s data revealed low adoption of COVID mitigation and prevention practices among youth and black communities, SFCD endeavored to use the built environment to empower these groups to take advantage of resources available and make informed decisions. Battling against COVID fatigue and set against the backdrop of racism’s formal declaration as a public health crisis, both City Builders and VCUarts mOb studio worked to design a visual health awareness campaign with a unique design style, messaging, and strategic placement.

SFCD convened students, an artist mentor, and a poster design collective to develop and install visual works, creating space for intentional conversations about health, wellness, race, and safety that culminated in a public poster show event in the Northside, increasing community awareness.

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“Teaching with City Builders reminded me that not only should we include our children in the process of designing better things for our cities but also to become better designers we need to awaken the child in ourselves.”

— John, Volunteer + Community Collaborator

Impact Story 2 | Design Session

A Community Circus in Southside

Determined to preserve a fabric of community arts in the changing landscape of the Manchester neighborhood, Host of Sparrows Aerial Circus, a professional aerial dance and circus arts company, struck out to renovate a new space. The owner, Heather, needed an advocate who could begin to translate a vision into reality. After reaching out to SFCD, Heather was connected with Jessie, a local volunteer architect.

Possibly even more valuable than the design assistance was Jessie's ability to demystify the language of construction: “there is such a need just for translating between community members and developers, landlords, and architects so they can better advocate for themselves." Once Design Session concluded, Heather and Jessie continued collaborating and in fall 2022 Host of Sparrows held their grand opening welcoming students and non-profits for community classes in circus arts to fulfill their mission.

Impact Story 3 | Community Visioning

A Guidebook for Highland Grove

When the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) was named as the developer to manage the initial plan to final buildout of Highland Grove, a 33-acre mixed income neighborhood, they knew that collaboration was critical to create lasting change for the better. The first step was to ensure that community voice continued to shape the project. BHC collaborated with SFCD to lead a community visioning process to guide the design of outdoor and architectural elements in the plan.

Alongside BHC, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the City of Richmond, Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, project:HOMES, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, and resident ambassadors, SFCD convened meetings, created a community survey, and hosted open house events that brought affordable housing non-profits under one roof for resource sharing. Over 150 residents participated throughout the process building a strong foundation to help guide BHC’s work moving forward.

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Notes from the Field: November Program Highlights

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.

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City Builders Design Workshop
Design Workshops

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.

Teens’ Choice Award

This year, we were excited to introduce a new Teens’ Choice award at the Golden Hammer Awards voted on by Storefront’s City Builders. As part of the semester program this fall, staff from Historic Richmond and Storefront met with participants to present the winning projects from this years’ Golden Hammer Awards and asked for their vote to pick the Teens’ Choice award.

We also used this opportunity to introduce the design and building process with the City Builders. Our participants and design mentors had 45 minutes to design an award that represents the best parts of Richmond. To make it slightly more challenging, they could only use paper products with tape, string, or glue. Check out the photos below as the City Builders designed and built their awards.

The Bridge Award

“Architectural structures are important connectors of people and places. Bridges connect neighborhoods – and connection IS the most important thing in Richmond.”

 The Mobile Award

“The mobile represents elements of Richmond’s built environment and the things that we love or admire – like neighborhoods, the VMFA, the skyline, and the love for the city.”

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Design Session
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance

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.

Whitcomb Court Park

This fall we've been collaborating with Councilwoman Robertson to create a cohesive vision for vacant green space at Whitcomb Court in the East End. As part of a hybrid design session, Storefront hosted a "community visioning” with our volunteer designers (shout-out to Natsumi and Katrina at Hanbury!), City of Richmond Parks and Recreation, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA), and community stakeholders. Together the team assessed community needs from previous engagement, researched site history, and discussed ideas for how to move forward. Currently, the volunteer designers are working towards a conceptual design for the green space with a focus on new basketball courts.

“If you invest something of value into community, they’ll take ownership in it with pride.”

— Councilwoman Robertson, 6th Voter District

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image: Design review with Councilwoman Robertson, design volunteers, Storefront staff, and Parks and Recreation.

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Community Visioning
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance

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.

Jackson Ward Community Plan November Update

On November 1, the Jackson Ward Community Plan team held three workshop sessions with Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents, planning experts, and stakeholders.

The workshop sessions, hosted at Calhoun Center, took place at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm and provided a review of the Choice Neighborhood Plan (CNP) process and an opportunity for everyone to share input and generate ideas for the future of Jackson Ward. The space was filled with several interactive stations providing opportunities for residents to learn about the project and generate ideas. The stations included:

• The Story of Jackson Ward. Spanning 24’ in length, this new timeline gave attendees the chance to learn about the history for Jackson Ward, share missing elements, and tell their own story.
  

• Review of the draft project vision and goals for housing, people, and neighborhood, along with one-on-one discussions.
  

• Like the August meetings, an activity to learn about neighborhood urban blocks and amenities was provided. For example, one block may include row homes, a church, and mixed-use buildings with apartments above ground floor commercial space. Attendees were also asked to vote for their preferred amenities and architecture styles.

Read the full recap of the Jackson Ward Community Plan November Workshop.

Check out the Jackson Ward Community Plan webpage to learn more about upcoming meetings and to review past meeting materials.

Storefront Recognized with AIA Virginia's Highest Honor

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image: SFCD staff accept AIA Virginia Medal on November 4 at the VMFA

Storefront for Community Design received the American Institute of Architects Virginia (AIA Virginia) Chapter’s Architecture Medal for Virginia Service at the Visions for Architecture celebration on November 4 at the VMFA. The award is the highest honor that AIA Virginia hands out and recognizes an individual or organization that makes an “unusually significant contribution” to Virginia’s built environment, or awareness of the built environment. 

“This award emphasizes the value and importance of designing spaces for the communities who use them. We want to thank AIA Virginia for choosing to recognize Storefront for its community-driven design and build efforts.”

— Bernard Harkless, Board Chair

In a letter to Storefront informing them of the award, AIA Virginia noted they wanted to recognize Storefront for its influence and contributions to uplifting underserved populations through the power of design. “AIA Virginia is delighted to honor Richmond’s Storefront for Community Design,” said Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, Interim Executive Vice President at AIA Virginia. “Since 2011, Storefront has been a stalwart non-profit design hub that seeks to make design programs and resources accessible to all. Leveraging their large network of volunteers, they have prioritized equitable growth, benefiting Richmond and the broader metropolitan area.”

Since 2011, Storefront has convened over 370 low-cost design and planning assistance projects and over 20 design education initiatives to community members, businesses, nonprofit organizations, local governments, schools, and neighborhoods. Last year, Storefront celebrated 10 years of community impact and recently launched a new strategic plan that will focus on more community-driven design. The organization plans to serve over 200,000 residents in Richmond through community design over the next three years.

“This award reaffirms what we’ve known about the importance and influence of design on communities. We remain humbled by and thankful for AIA Virginia’s recognition, and we look forward to continuing our important work in the communities that matter most around Richmond.”

— Shawn Balon, Executive Director

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image: SFCD co-founder, staff, and consultants celebrate awards

It was a serendipitous occasion. Not only did Storefront for Community Design receive the Architecture Medal for Virginia Service but Burt Pinnock, Storefront’s co-founder, was recognized with the William C. Noland Medal, the highest honor bestowed by AIA Virginia upon an architect for his exceptional career and commitment to preserve and celebrate historic black communities and create opportunities for future generations within and beyond those communities. Congratulations Burt!

Recapping the 2022 Golden Hammer Awards

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image: The Inaugural Teens’ Choice Award is presented to the Playground+ team.

Storefront for Community Design and Historic Richmond hosted the 2022 Golden Hammer Awards on October 27 at Hardywood Brewery. As Richmond-area non-profits with interests in historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization, we were delighted to co-present the awards for the sixth year and recognize professionals and community members improving our neighborhoods through restoration, adaptive reuse, new construction, placemaking, and historic preservation. The Golden Hammer Awards were started in 2000 with a goal of honoring excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects throughout Greater Richmond.

Our nominees completed projects in many of Richmond’s well known historic districts - Jackson Ward, the Museum District, Scotts Addition, Monroe Ward, Northside, Manchester, the East End, the Carillon, Monument Avenue and Downtown’s central business district – but this year we see, for the first time, projects focused on the revitalization of public housing and public investment in areas of South Richmond. The focus on the public housing projects developed in the city during the era of Urban Renewal contrasts with parallel efforts by private developers and county governments to revitalize suburban areas that were developed during a period of white flight from Richmond’s city center.

A church, a gas station, an early downtown “skyscraper,” a school, an Art Deco commercial storefront, a fraternity house, a 1970s shopping mall, the riverfront, and multiple iconic civic institutions - these unique and authentic elements of our historic built environment are now seeing new life thanks to the work of our nominees.

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The collective work of our nominees reflects innovative solutions to address contemporary issues, marking a year of progress towards a more vibrant and equitable Richmond with more housing, more education, more accessibility, and more places for people to just be themselves.

This year, we also introduced a new Teens’ Choice award voted on by Storefront for Community Design’s City Builders. As part of our youth program this fall, we met with participants to present the 12 winning projects and asked for their vote to pick the Teens’ Choice award. The City Builders even designed two awards that was presented to the winner.

photo credit: Magali deVulpillieres Photography

And the Golden Hammer Award goes to….

Categories included:

Best Adaptive Reuse:

• NOVA of Virginia Aquatics – 100 Nova Way

• Oakwood Arts – 3511 P Street

• RVA Kids First Collective – 100 Everett Street

Best New Construction:

• Small: Richmond’s Frist 3-D Printed Home – 217 Carnation Street

• Medium: The 2200 at Cary – 2200 West Cary Street

• Large: The Current – 21 East 4th Street

Best Placemaking and Urban Design:

• Brook and Marshall Placemaking Project

• Huguenot Flatwater Accessible Ramp – 8600 Southampton Road

• “Seed Award for Reimagining Public Housing” Playground+ - 1500 Harwood Street

Best Restoration:

• Historic Restoration in Poplar Lawn – 41 D’Arcy Street

Best Restoration – Community Institution Revitalization:

• Sarah Dooley Center for Autism – 8000 Brook Road

• YWCA Richmond – 6 North 5th Street

Teen’s Choice Award

• Playground+ - 1500 Harwood Street

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2022 Golden Hammer Event Program and Nominations

Check out all of the 2022 Golden Hammer nominees and winners in our event program here.

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Thank you to our 2022 Golden Hammer Awards Sponsors!

Storefront Receives Architecture Medal for Virginia Service Award

Storefront for Community Design is honored to be awarded the 2022 Architecture Medal for Virginia Service. As the AIA Virginia’s most prestigious public award, the Architecture Medal for Virginia Service honors an individual or organization that has made an unusually significant contribution to Virginia's built environment or to our understanding and awareness of the built environment. Strorefront for Community Design will be celebrated at Visions for Architecture on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.