monday mockups

A second attempt at narrowing the proposal down in 300 words:

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: