T H E G R E A T [re] A W A K E N I N G
Genesis
This is the
product of my visits to Grace Baptist
Church.
After
interviewing three church members—all former residents of Pruitt-Igoe—it has
become apparent that there is a strong desire to restore basic amenities to the area. At the same time, it is clear that these
amenities must come in the form of a community
project : a model entirely different from the large-scale strategies employed
in the past and dictating the future.
Proposal
The project
will operate at three scales :
1. Retrofit
Grace
Baptist Church is currently raising funds for a community center on a nearby property. The congregation plans to retrofit an existing brick row-house on
the site. At the architectural scale, the project will focus on the programming and
adaptive reuse of the building.
2. Reclaim
The large-scale vision is this: under the
guise of adverse possession laws
(“squatter’s rights”), Grace Baptist will incrementally reclaim vacant parcels, establishing spatial connections with other
congregations and with the site of Pruitt-Igoe.
3. Reactivate
The intermediate scale will focus on the
programming of these reclaimed parcels : what events or amenities can be
implemented to reactivate these
spaces? What can be done with little or
no preexisting resources?
This scale
will also address the project’s relation to Pruitt-Igoe : can portions of the
site be reclaimed to enhance these
new connections?
Vision
The project
imagines this approach of retrofitting,
reclaiming, and reactivating as a model for other congregations and community
projects, not only in the vicinity of Pruitt-Igoe but in other underserved
areas of St. Louis. It envisions a city
transformed not by large-scale strategies or outside interests but by its inhabitants;
it is a platform for the Great [re]Awakening.
Some mockups for my proposal; three quick "storyboards" I did just to get the ideas going:
Sketches and photos of the interior of 2417 Cass, the proposed site of the Grace Baptist community center:
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