[a first pass at a direction for the project] :
Concept
The mapping
began as an inquiry into urban renewal-era public
housing projects in St. Louis; the high-rise
versus low-rise debate became a central focus. The map is a testament to the pervasive
attitude against high-rise public housing, an attitude that arguably began with
Pruitt-Igoe and was amplified by policies like Hope VI.
The drawing provokes
an architectural discussion of high-rise versus low-rise, but it also hints at
a much broader issue: large-scale plans
versus small-scale interventions.
This project asserts that large-scale projects—Pruitt-Igoe, the Northside
Regeneration plan, and others—are ineffective and inhumane; that, quite simply,
small is better than big.
Client
The project
will serve the congregation of Grace
Baptist Church, housed in what was, at the time of Pruitt-Igoe’s
construction, a local grocery store.
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 threatening to dictate the future.
Design
Problem
Grace
Baptist Church is currently raising funds for a community center on a neighboring property. The congregation plans to retrofit an
existing brick row-house on the site.
The problem
is twofold: what does undertaking a “community project” entail, and what can the proposed community center be? Likewise, the approach comes in two forms: a
rigorous engagement with community
members in an attempt to define a program and a focus on the potential of
the center to reclaim those
amenities—spatial, functional, emotional—that have been lost.
