DC Public Library Fab Lab Pop-Up at NoMa Now Open

Read more about the Fab Lab here.

[bc] believes in the public library's critical role as a hub for democracy. We are excited to support the DC Public Library in extending services into neighborhoods, expanding services to facilitate the work of makers, and fostering community spaces for individuals to utilize their hands and access the tools to shape the future of their cities. 

In June, the DC Public Library NoMa fabrication lab ("fab lab") pop-up officially opened! The completion of this shipping container-turned-makerspace, which houses maker equipment and easily adjustable work stations, was celebrated with an opening event on June 17, attended by the project partners.

Attendees were free to roam around the courtyard and inside the container, and to enjoy the interior craftsmanship of custom-designed maker walls and furniture and the mural on all sides of the containers. Even the tops of the containers were painted, viewable from the surrounding tall buildings.

Following the tour and open house, Executive Director of the DC Public Library, Richard Reyes-Gavilan gave a closing thank you to all partners. Reyes-Gavilan spoke about the programming and new perspective public libraries can offer, noting, "Libraries are more than just books."

The Public Library has already started hosting free DIY classes and workshops. You can learn more about upcoming events at the Fab Lab Pop-Up at NOMA on the DC Public Library website here. More information about the Fab Lab and Pop-Up can be found here. 

Thanks to all of our partners and volunteers who assisted with this project!

New Home Development Program Breaks Ground in Acres Homes

On September 4, the City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department broke ground on 8 homes in the Acres Homes neighborhood that were designed by [bc] as part of the New Home Development Program. Drawing from the engagement done as a part of the City of Houston's Disaster Recovery Round 2, the designs were updated to improve resiliency and accessibility. [bc] staff were in attendance for the event, in addition to Mayor Sylvester Turner and representatives from HCDD.

Check out our photos from the event below!

Cottages Featured in Two Exhibitions

A view of The Cottages at Hickory Crossing in Dallas, TX. 

The Cottages at Hickory Crossing, the 50-unit permanent supportive housing complex in Dallas, TX for which [bc] served as architect, will be featured in two new exhibitions this summer.

Re-opening June 14, 2018 at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at George Washington University is the Sustainable Native Communities Collective (SNCC) Bridging Boundaries exhibition. The exhibition, which runs through August 19, demonstrates "how art and design can create space for unification and negotiation." Join us for the opening reception!

This October, Design for Good: Architecture for Everyone will open at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). The exhibition is curated by the author of the eponymous book, John Cary. 

We are thrilled to have our work featured in these important exhibitions. If you have a chance to visit them, engage with us on social media, snap a picture, and let us know what you think!

Cultivating Connections Final Presentations

See more posts about our work in DC!

On May 1, students in Professor Barbara Brown-Wilson's Ecological Democracy course at the University of Virginia School of Architecture gave their final presentations for their Cultivating Connections project, through which they explored how to connect the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens—a National Park—to the surrounding Kenilworth-Parkside community. Students presented via video conference to a group which included representatives of Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, the National Park Service, and the DC Office of Planning. The presentations wrapped up a semester-long project for the students, who received guidance  and mentorship in public interest design and community engagement practices from [bc]'s Washington, DC team.

Over the course of the semester, activities that informed their project included visits to the park and design activities with visitors. As part of NatureFest—a weeklong camp at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens—UVA students asked young participants to  draw maps of how they get to the park and representations of plants and animals they've encountered there, learning about where campers come from and how they interact with the park. 

Check out images from the final presentation day below!

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Welcome Sara Gordon!

Learn more about Sara here!

Sara Gordon is a Design Associate at buildingcommunityWORKSHOP in the Washington, DC office. At [bc], Sara works to support a variety of design and equitable development projects.

Sara’s journey began in a small design-build firm working to modernize once run down single family homes in the northeast neighborhoods of DC. In addition, she has worked closely with youth educational groups to teach the foundations of architecture, interact with the local professionals, guide site visits to monuments, and create design-build learning environments. Originally from New Jersey, Sara has adopted DC as her new home city where she has a strong connection with community involvement and local crafters, artisans and farmers.

Sara holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture with an Urban Practice Concentration from The Catholic University of American (CUA) in Washington, DC. She also participated in The School of Architecture Foreign Studies Program in Barcelona, Spain working closely with Makers of Barcelona (MOB).

[bc] + UVA Community Design Partnership

Supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works grant, [bc] is partnering with the University of Virginia School of Architecture to train students in the practice of community-engaged, public interest design.

15 students enrolled in the semester-long Ecological Democracy class, a graduate planning course taught by Assistant Professor Barbara Brown-Wilson, will work with [bc]'s DC team to utilize community-engaged research and design methods to address a timely equitable development challenge.  Over the semester, students will build awareness of "the roles planning and design can play in supporting socio-economic vulnerable communities to increase their own social and ecological resilience."

[bc] and UVA are working with the nonprofit organization Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to develop strategies that help connect residents of the surrounding community to the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, a National Park though signage, way-finding and other physical interventions. 

In February, UVA students traveled to Washington, DC. Students, faculty, and [bc] staff visited Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens to gain insight from stakeholders, conduct a site documentation assignment, and learn about the history of the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood.

In March, [bc] visited the UVA campus to provide feedback on students' group presentations, which explored aspects of way-finding signage design, codes and regulations, mapping, and project coordinators. Check out our photos from these activities!

This partnership furthers [bc]'s efforts to advance the practice of public interest design through training and mentorship of designers and planners, while providing UVA students with experience learning from professionals in the field. 

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.