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:

adverse possession law



pin-up

Revised community project map; drawing connections between new models of amenities

Base map showing possible pathways through the site (plastic lead on mylar overlay)

Study showing a corridor cutting through the site in plan and section; diagram of how a street crossing might play out in plan.

A rough "phasing diagram" for the project

Sketch of the community center and a neighboring plot; simple, economical interventions like planters and tables/chairs complement more dramatic actions like creating a large opening in the western side of the building. 

What if's...

What if a corridor could cut through the site, creating a pathway between the Gateway School and the proposed community center?  What if fields for growing food or sports pitches were placed there?

What if the building could be gutted or cut into?  What if programs were allowed to spill out onto the street or into neighboring lots?  What if the roof spaces of existing buildings suddenly became inhabitable?

trace-paper tuesday

Rough dimensions of 2417 Cass



Section: pathways through the site

Perspective: community center

"maps on maps on maps"

Today I tried to address the project at a larger scale. 

As always, the questions come streaming in from all sides: how could the community center promote land "reclamation"?  Could churches in the area begin to add property to their holdings?  How could this happen?  What if the churches could be linked?  How does the Pruitt-Igoe site fit into this?   

Churches in the vicinity of the Pruitt-Igoe site; drawing connections.

Drawing pathways through the site that could link the churches; the sketch begins to show how vacant land might be appropriated by the congregations

Phases of land "reclamations" made by the churches