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Check out more of our Neighborhood Stories work, and read about POP.
The latest of our Neighborhood Stories history booklets is now available online! Completed in collaboration with current and former residents, the booklet details the hundred-year history of West Main Street in West Dallas.
See more posts about Disaster Recovery Round 2 here!
On February 13th, the design team welcomed neighborhood residents, community leaders, and local design architects to the Community Focus Group held in the Community Room and the Jayne Junkin’s Memorial Room at the Texas Organizing Project office in Houston. The focus groups reviewed preliminary schematic home designs. Participants spoke one-on-one with the local architects on each of over 30 designs that were presented to address comments, questions and concerns. Participant input informed the development of schematic home designs presented in the Gallery Show on February 27, 2014.
More information about this program can also be found at the Disaster Recovery Round 2 project website. You can now download our DR2 Design Guidebook to find out more about the six neighborhoods involved in this process.
Learn more about our Colonias LID project.
The Colonia Stormwater Low Impact Development & Open Space project seeks to provide sustainable drainage infrastructure and open space strategies to Colonias in need. By layering drainage and open space we can create spaces that not only address the problem of flooding, but also provide spaces for gathering and enjoyment. The project addresses the problem of flooding through education, political and community engagement,and design. It seeks to educate Colonia residents and government officials about drainage challenges and the opportunities to improve stormwater infrastructure at the Colonias through Low Impact Development strategies.
Five stormwater management and open space plans are in development. These can be used by Colonia residents as a tool for advocating change, and by County Officials as a community informed designs for future drainage projects in the Colonias.
Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.
After several months of engagement and planning Activating Vacancy in the Tenth Street Historic District is ready to launch. The 16 artists originally selected for the initiative have taken part in three engagement activities lead by members of the community; the first was a social and bbq intended to get people talking and sharing stories, the second was a neighborhood tour lead by community members to important historical sites including the Oak Cliff Cemetery, Greater El Bethel Baptist Church, and the N.W. Harllee Elementary School, and the final was a neighborhood launch where artists started to share their ideas. Following these engagements 11 artists continued and create project proposals with input from the community and curatorial committees.
In the end teams of artists proposed 6 projects including; the Ark on Noah St., Story Corners, Dear House, Ghost Bridges, the Show Hill Biz Park, and the Tenth Street Sweep. Over the next 6 months check back to get details on the events and how you can participate! Many workshops, build days, and celebrations are sure to follow and will result in an amazing series of projects. We hope to see you there!
Learn more about our work in the RGV.
The RGV Transportation project aims to raise awareness about multi-modal transportation system in Brownsville, Texas and grow it into rural and colonia areas of the Rio Grande Valley. Because of the lack of knowledge in low income neighborhoods about the system, it is currently underutilized. This, in turn, creates a perceived lack of need and demand; limiting the amount of funding available via federal and state agencies and the amount that local policymakers are willing to invest towards additional infrastructure and regional growth. The maps show existing and proposed transportation networks at the regional and cities' of Brownsville and McAllen scale:
RGV Transportation is a collaborative project with Bike Texas, the City of Brownsville, CDC Brownsville, and the Ford Foundation.
Read more about the Disaster Recovery Round 2 work in Houston.
On February 1st, the project team welcomed neighborhood residents, community leaders, local design architects, and city staff to Houston Housing Authority’s Neighborhood Resource Center, where they worked together to advance the housing interests of the six target communities. Over 50 participants were in attendance.
The Community Design Workshop used activities to document contextual and programmatic design preferences for Community Revitalization Areas (CRA) & Outreach Areas, and will inform schematic home designs, including floor plans and elevations. Participants at the Community Design Workshop were divided into six groups, based on CRA & Outreach Area neighborhoods (Acre Homes, Independence Heights, Near Northside, Fifth Ward, OST/South Union, and Sunnyside). Each participant was encouraged to share and debate ideas with the assumption that all ideas were welcomed.
Context - Participants identified neighborhood priorities in the following design categories - building performance, foundation, driveway, roof, porch, texture, doors, windows, and window details. Using a blackjack style card game, complete with a “wild card” option, participants drew their preferred building component and debated each option with their group.
Home Design - Participants diagramed their existing home and site layout, then designed their model home to accommodate their family’s needs, indicating programmatic adjacencies and areas of most importance within the home.
Conclusions - Each CRA & Outreach Area shared highlights from their group sessions which included three things about their neighborhood’s context and three things about their home designs to the entire Community Design Workshop group.
More information about this program can also be found at the Disaster Recovery Round 2 project website. You can now download our DR2 Design Guidebook to find out more about the six neighborhoods involved in this process.
Future events will include a follow up focus group, hosted by the project team and local design architects; and a home design Gallery Show on February 27th to present design ideas generated during the February 1st Community Design Workshop for selection.
Read more about Neighborhood Stories and POP Dallas.
POP Neighborhood Stories has been recognized as a 2014 SEED Award for Excellence in Public Interest Design Honorable Mention! Winning projects span the globe from Peru, Brazil, India, Israel, Mozambique, China, and the United States. We are very proud to have our work recognized along side so many great projects.
2014 SEED Award Winners: Comunidad Ecologica Saludable, Puenta Piedra, Lima Peru Can City, Sao Paulo, Brazil The Potty Project, New Delhi, India Towns Association for Environmental Quality Green Building Headquarters, Sakhnin, Israel Community How-To-Guides, Detroit, Michigan, United States Manica Football for Hope Centre, Bairro Vumba, Manica, Mozambique
Honorable Mentions:Dime Kam Minority Cultural Heritage in China, Dimen, China Walk [Your City], Raleigh, North Carolina, United States POP Neighborhood Stories, Dallas, Texas, United States
The fourth annual SEED Awards received applications from 28 countries. The SEED Award recognizes designs that address the critical social, economic, and environmental issues in the world. Winners were selected by an esteemed jury based on the following criteria: Effectiveness, Excellence, Inclusiveness, Impactful, and Systemic and Participatory. The jury members were: William Morrish, Jury Chair, of Parsons The New School of Design; Cara McCarty of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; Andres Lepik of the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München; Esther Yang of the Max Bond Center for Design for the Just City; and Christopher London of The New School.
bcWORKSHOP's past SEED Award winning projects include the Congo Street Initiative (Winner, 2011); Gurley Place at Jubilee Park (Honorable Mention, 2012); and Colonias Planning & Implementation (Honorable Mention, 2013).
Learn more about our Informing work.
Dallas Heroes was initiated by bcWORKSHOP in recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s incredible legacy of service. Dr. King challenged us to build a more perfect union and taught us that everyone has a role to play. With the Dallas Heroes project, on January 20th we honored some of those who serve or have served locally by distributing "Dallas Heroes" trading cards across the city of Dallas. Our hope is that this advocacy will encourage you to honor your heroes and to engage the causes that you care about.
How were the 25 heroes chosen? For the First Edition we nominated our own local heroes, the people that have inspired us by striving to bring greater economic, social, and environmental justice to Dallas. They come from a wide range of causes, including civil rights, environmental justice, and the arts. There are many more heroes to honor - now we welcome your submissions for the Second Edition.
Why trading cards? They’re tangible, portable, collectible, and fun. We were inspired by vintage sports cards, and we believe our heroes can be celebrated in this form as well.
Where can I get a pack? This is a limited edition of 1,000 packs, distributed across the city. You can find locations posted on Twitter and Instagram (#dallasheroes). The cards will not be reprinted!
What can I do? Submit and share your Dallas heroes, either through the website www.dallasheroes.org, or through Twitter or Instagram (#dallasheroes). On the website you can also connect to the causes or organizations associated with some of the 25 heroes in this pack. We encourage you to find other local opportunities for volunteerism, advocacy, or donations.
When will the Second Edition come out? That all depends on you and the submissions we receive. Submit your heroes through www.dallasheroes.org for a chance to win a t-shirt featuring your Dallas Hero!
More questions? Give us a call at 214-252-2900, e-mail us at inform@bcworkshop.org or drop by our office at 416 S. Ervay Street!
Read more about Disaster Recovery Round 2 in Houston.
Now in it's 6th year, bcWORKSHOP is expanding again, this time to Houston, Texas. We are still getting our feet wet down here, but we’ve already started to connect with some great organizations and people. Not only are we looking forward to meeting more, we are even more eager to be a part of a community dedicated to bringing great possibilities in this city to fruition. Our first project is a program called Disaster Recovery Round Two (DR2). With the City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department and Texas General Land Office, we are planning to play a key role in rebuilding up to 400 homes in neighborhoods damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Ike in the Fall of 2008. And because this project is our first in Houston, we see this as an opportunity to engage a wide variety of Houstonians on how to approach redevelopment with sensitivity to the local context and existing community.
Along with our project partners, Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, unabridged Architects and University of Houston Community Design Resource Center, we are tapping into the expertise of the local architecture community and the residents from six affected neighborhoods: Independence Heights, Acres Homes, Near Northside, Greater Fifth Ward, Old Spanish Trail/South Union and Sunnyside. During a working charrette, which will be held on February 1st, neighborhood leaders, potential residents, the local design architects and the project partners will discover what types of homes people want to see in their communities. The six different groups will share project information, programmatic preferences and contextual design preferences through a series of conversations and design exercises. The information gathered at this event will be highly important for the local design architects to generate preliminary schematic home designs, which will be exhibited in Gallery Show at the end of February. A celebration rather than another working session, the Gallery Show is where the communities can view the different designs, ask questions, debate and vote on their favorites. The designs with the most votes will be made available for selection by residents who are qualified through the DR2 program for construction. Construction is planned to begin in the Summer of 2014.
By bringing a diversity of community residents, design professionals and stakeholders together in the design process, we see a chance to produce a wider variety of well considered and energy efficient home designs than typically available in disaster recovery efforts. Utilizing a process where design professionals and clients can share their respective expertise will result in attractive, well functioning and livable homes. We are excited to begin this opportunity to help create homes that engender pride in not just the homeowner, but also in the whole community.
For those interested in this project, and living in the Houston area, please join us at our Gallery Show, scheduled for February 27th! Drop us a line by email at inform@bcworkshop.org, find us on twitter or like our facebook page to hear more details as they come. We would love to meet you and hear what potential you see in this city. We are glad to join in on dreaming about what else Houston can be!
Check out what's been going on this year!
2013 marks bcWORKSHOP's 5th year as a non-profit! We would like to share our accomplishments from this milestone year, in which we received national and international recognition of our work and opened an office in Houston.
2013 OVERVIEW 34 Active Projects and Initiatives - Centered on improving livability and viability, project types range widely and include single family homes, multi-unit developments, university campus planning, and community/artist collaborations.
144,678 Square Footage Designed - The unique social, economic and environmental conditions of place guide the design process and products in Dallas, Houston, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley communities.
10,137 Voices Heard - By listening to and amplifying voices, our outreach efforts change perceptions of place and build stronger communities through understanding common challenges and celebrating shared histories.
102 Stories Documented - Documenting and exhibiting stories highlights the unique culture and development of neighborhoods, and creates a platform for active dialogue about the history and future of our communities.
148 Community Engagement Meetings and Events - Engaging stakeholders is at the core of a thoughtful design practice and ensures that design solutions reflect community values, identify and respond to core issues, and are held to high professional standards.
Work Across Texas - bcWORKSHOP's projects span seven counties: Dallas, Tarrant, Harris, Cameron, Starr, Hidalgo, and Willacy. Over the last two years, we have expanded our office to include Dallas, Brownsville and Houston, applying our community based practice to address both needs that are unique to each locality as well as their shared needs.
Awards & Recognition
bcWORKSHOP has been fortunate in 2013 to receive recognition on local, national and international scales for both architecture and planning work. Awards include:
Our office's work was also exhibited at AIA Dallas Small Firm Roundtable's "Under the Radar" exhibit at the Dallas Center for Architecture and the Texas Society of Architects State Convention in Fort Worth.
Revenue & Expenses - We greatly appreciate the time and support of our funders, partners, participants, and advocates. We look forward to continuing our work in 2014. Your support is what makes our work possible.
Supporters & Partners - Thank you very much for your support in 2013! Join us, and get involved in 2014 by volunteering, donating, joining our email list, or attending future community meetings and events.
Corporations - Bank of America CITI
Government - National Endowment for the Arts
Foundations - Communities Foundation of Texas Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation Ford Foundation Leland Fikes Foundation Rudy Bruner Foundation The Dallas Foundation The Horizon Foundation Trinity Trust Foundation
Non-Profits - Advocates for Community Transformation AIGA - Dallas Fort Worth The Real Estate Council
In Kind - Larry Ferguson, R.P.L.S. Mark Smallridge SWA Group
Individuals - Rik Adamski Robyn Anderson Donald A Baty Maria Bergh LeAnn Binford Lawrence Bogan Cathy Boldt Anne & Brent Brown Sue & Frank Brown Laurne Cadieux Michael Carriveau Brandon Castillo Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cheatham Eva Cherry Patricia Clements Sara Cohen Heather Commons John Curran Reece Dike George Ellis Andrea Farris Sara Beth Frye Donald Gatzke James Gibbs Hunter & Stephanie Hunt Ben Jones Maria & Victor Jones Zach Kauffman Tierney Kaufman James Lawrence Kristi Macadaeg Abby Medin Ron Medin Jesse Muniz Dhriti Pandya Wanda Pate Shea & Cleo Patricek Maribeth Peters A Reece Deedie & Rusty Rose Evan Stone Amanda Streitmatter Kyle Talkington Barbara Teeter Ann Weflen Roger Whaley
Partners - A Resource in Serving Equality Advocates for Community Transformation Affordable Homes of South Texas AIGA DFW Iv Amenti Austin CDC AVANCE Ann Bagley Melody Bell Big Thought Yesenia Blandon Christopher Blay Brixmor Property Group Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation Caruth Foundation CDC Brownsville CDC Harlingen Morgan Chivers City of Dallas City of Dallas CityDesign Studio City of Denton, Neighborhood Planning Program CitySquare Rob Colburn Phillip Collins Communities Foundation of Texas Maurice Cox Patricia Cox Tisha Crear Catherine Cuellar D Academy Dallas County Criminal Justice System Dallas Engaged Professionals Dallas Homeowners League Dallas Independent School District Dallas Parks and Recreation Dallas Public Library Bang Dang Deep Dallas Music Dolphin Heights Neighborhood Association Dorothea Leonhardt Foundation Downtown Dallas, Inc Wanda Dye East Dallas Community School Elizabeth Chapel CME Church Eloise Lundy Recreation Center Equal Voice Network Fraizer Revitalization Inc Friends of the Sant Fe Trail Fruteria Cano Don Gatzke Gensler Golden SEEDS/Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church Tammy Gomez Greater El Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Groundworks Dallas Gulf Coast Community Design Studio Healing Hands Ministeries Henderson Neighborhood Association Anna Hill Hocker Design Group Erika Huddleston Paula Hutchinson Tipton Housewright Jewish Family Services Linda Jones Kadleck & Associates Keist Park Neighborhood Association La Union del Pueblo Entero Lakewood Trails LIFT Rick Lowe Christa McCall Sara Mendez & Isaac Cortez MEP Systems Design & Engineering Inc. Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Metrocare Services Akin Babatunde & Liz Mickel Mill City Community Association Shaun Montgomery Cythia Mulcahy John Mullen National Endowment for the Arts New Hope Empowerment Center Old Oak Cliff Conservation League Parkview Church of God David Perkes Plastiki Marcello Pope (Rosie Lee) David Preziosi Proyecto Azteca Proyecto Juan Diego Public Architecture RabbleWorkshop Radha Kalachandji Hare Krishna Temple Samuell Grand Recreation Center Danny Samuels San Felipe de Jesus Lou Nell Sims Alphonso Smith SMU: Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity SMU: Innovation Lab South Texas Adult Resource and Training John Spriggins Supermercado Azteca SWA Group TEDxSMU Tenth Street Crimewatch Texas A&M - Commerce Texas A&M University College of Architecture Texas Organizing Project Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Texas Tech College of Architecture The Parks at Wynnewood The ROi Project The Senior Source TMBP|click Two-Wins Foundation TX Low Income Housing Information Service U3 Ventures unAbridged Architecture University of Houston Community Design Resource Center UT Southwestern Medical Center Benny Walker Patricia Williams/American Care Academy Woodrow Wilson Alumni Association Woodrow Wilson High School Wynnewood Community Services Center Wynnewood North Neighborhood Association Xplore YouthBUILD YWCA
Read more about UTRGV.
On June 14, 2013 the 83rd Texas Legislature approved the creation of a new University of Texas and medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. The new university, UT Rio Grande Valley, will be a single institution that spans the entire region with facilities in each of the major metropolitan areas of Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, and McAllen. The new university will combine the resources of the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA), the University of Brownsville (UTB), and the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Regional Academic Health Center School of Public Health (RAHC). In November, 2013 UT-RGV received $196 million from the Permanent University Fund to establish the new institution.
The creation of UT-RGV is a historic moment for the Rio Grande Valley, offering an unprecedented opportunity for regional impact and unification. UT-RGV is expected to serve as a model of educational excellence, transforming the social, physical, and economic prosperity of the Valley. For communities, particularly those of low-income, plans for the new university hold the promise of a powerful ally in positive change. For the new university, active engagement in local context assures its relevance as a competitive leader in first class higher education.
In an effort to leverage the reciprocal relationship of university and community, bcWORKSHOP partnered with the University of Texas System, the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB), Public Architecture, U3 Ventures, Educate Texas, and LRGV organizing groups LUPE, ARISE, and START to ensure that the principles and practices of engagement are embedded in the fabric of the new institution and that the low-income community is an active participant in the planning process.
On November 8, 2013, the team co-hosted a day-long Forum on Community Engagement in Weslaco, Texas. Together with over 100 participants, community leaders, students, local experts, national advisors, and UT system staff contributed to more than 500 hours of collective brainpower - discussing and envisioning ways in which to transform the Rio Grande Valley. In preparation for the Forum, local organizing groups conducted surveys, workshops, and focus groups where community members identified priority action items in relation to health, education, economic development, and regional planning. The Forum built upon these priorities and best practice knowledge to develop a community agenda that promotes innovative strategies for university and regional growth. The Forum was a successful first step in establishing community-university partnership and identifying potential principles and practices of the new engaged university.
Ideas generated at the Forum will be packaged by bcWORKSHOP and shared back to the community, UT System, and UT-RGV planners. Community and university planning and partnership will continue through 2014.
Check out more from our Shopfront Series.
Join Kate Medin on Tuesday, December 17th as she shares her recent research on the Knox Park neighborhood. Knox Park is a pie-piece shaped neighborhood tucked between Central Expressway and the Katy Trail. Flanked originally by two railroads, it remains a unique entity in the city due to its infrastructural isolation. Through the influence of its neighbors, it has converted from one of Dallas' first northern suburbs to a retail and multifamily residential hub. This discussion will focus on how infrastructure not only shapes the physical environment, but also the culture of a place.
Check out more from out Shopfront Series.
It's time to celebrate! 2013 marks exactly 100 years of development within the Bexar Street Corridor. Originally platted in 1913, Lincoln Manor, Lincoln Manor No. 2, Elite, Ervay Cedars, and Camps Peachland were the first housing developments to appear in neighborhoods contemporarily known as Ideal and Rochester Park/Bonton, both which sit within the Bexar Street Corridor in the southernmost portion of South Dallas. This research investigated the historic vicissitudes associated with those developments by virtue of markets and policy response. By examining the last 100 years of development history within the Bexar Street Corridor, this presentation aims to inform contemporary development practices and policy by understanding what was effective, what was not, why, and what that meant for the community.
Read more about our work in the RGV.
A new pedestrian and biking trail was recently completed in Brownsville, TX that connects the historic neighborhoods of West Brownsville, Rio Viejo, and Downtown. The Belden Trail, once an abandoned rail line, is now part of the City’s growing network of walking and biking infrastructure. Named after one of the City's founders, Belden Street was converted to an extension of the West Rail Line, then abandoned to backyard alleys, and has now been reclaimed as 5,170 linear feet of accessible park. It is book-ended by Sunrise Rotary Park and Riverside Park and connects to three different schools. The neighborhoods that have direct access to the trail are diverse, but primarily low-income, with many families and elderly that rely on alternative forms of transportation.
Since the first patch of concrete was placed, the community began to provide the life and vibrancy to the trail that will ensure its success. Any evening in West Brownsville one will find families out together on this stretch of land, now lit and cared for, that they were afraid to walk through just six months ago. Both programmed and informal events continue to take place along the trail, including two bikes for tikes rides, social walks and rides, and art projects.
The project team consisted of: Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) - client bcWORKSHOP- community outreach and design Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB) - construction
The land is owned by the City of Brownsville, and funded and developed by BCIC and a grant from the Texas Parks & Wildlife. Other City departments contributed to the design and approval and investment process, including but not limited to a sidewalk accessibility improvement project around the trail and public transit routes in the neighborhood (BMetro) and increased street lighting (PUB).
bcWORKSHOP was involved for the past year in pre-design community engagement, design, and construction management, and participatory activities throughout the process. Even while under construction, and in full swing now, the community itself has initiated a number of events and engaged activities along the trail. bcWORKSHOP continues to participate, as a part of the neighborhood, in community-driven activities along the trail.
Throughout initial community engagement, the top priorities were consistently safety and shade. The design provides complete protection from vehicular traffic, increased crossing safety at each of the 16 street crossings through traffic calming measures and additional signage, and additional lighting throughout. Designed as an urban one-mile linear park, it has ancillary paths and rest areas that provide shade, seating, trash, and bike parking. All landscape was selected for its beauty, shading, low-maintenance and drought resistance qualities, and for its history and ruggedness in the unique South Texas ecosystem.
Read more about the Belden Trail:
The Bruner Foundation Inc., sponsor of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA), has announced its 2013 Gold and Silver Medalists, marking twenty-five years of honoring innovative urban placemaking.
The Bruner Foundation Inc., sponsor of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA), has announced its 2013 Gold and Silver Medalists, marking twenty-five years of honoring innovative urban placemaking. Founded in 1987, the biennial award celebrates urban places distinguished by quality design and contributions to the social, economic, and communal vitality of our nation's cities. A selection committee of six urban experts determined the winners from among five finalists, naming Inspiration Kitchens-Garfield Park (Chicago, IL) the Gold Medalist and recipient of $50,000 to support the project. bcWORKSHOP congratulates Inspiration Kitchens on this accolade recognizing both its innovation and replicability.
Inspiration Kitchens—Garfield Park – Chicago, IL - submitted by Inspiration Corporation. An entrepreneurial, nonprofit initiative on Chicago’s west side that includes an 80-seat restaurant. The LEED Gold certified facility serves free and affordable healthy meals in an economically challenged neighborhood and offers a thirteen-week training program that helps individuals gain skills and experience leading to food service industry employment. “We are honored to have been chosen from the outstanding finalists to receive this award,” says Shannon Stewart, executive director and CEO, Inspiration Corporation. “We are proud of our success in creating meaningful connections in Garfield Park and are grateful that the award will help us continue to engage with members of this underserved community.”
The four 2013 RBA Silver Medalists each receive $10,000 to support their projects:
Congo Street Initiative - Dallas, TX - submitted by buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. The LEED Gold or Platinum-certified rehabilitation of five houses and the construction of a sixth for transitional housing, as well as a green street designed in collaboration with residents.
Louisville Waterfront Park – Louisville, KY – submitted by Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation. An 85-acre urban park developed over more than two decades that repurposed abandoned industrial land and reconnected the city with the Ohio River.
The Steel Yard - Providence, RI – submitted by Klopfer Martin Design Group. A 3.5-acre historic steel fabrication facility transformed into an environmentally responsible campus for arts education, workforce training, and small-scale manufacturing.
Via Verde - Bronx, NY – submitted by Jonathan Rose Companies and Phipps Houses. A 222-unit, LEED Gold certified, affordable housing development in the Bronx designed as a model for healthy and sustainable urban living.
“Our twenty-fifth anniversary Rudy Bruner Award winners highlight the diversity of innovation in our cities today,” says Simeon Bruner, founder of RBA. “They show us urban excellence at all scales and inspire us with their optimism.”
buildingcommunityWORKSHOP led the Congo Street Initiative in the transformation of a small forgotten street in the Jubilee Park neighborhood of Dallas, and in doing so presented a model for community revitalization. The initiative was built on close collaboration with residents and the successful coordination of partners, funders, and volunteers. "We are honored to have been selected as a finalist and continue to be humbled as we receive a 2013 silver medal," states Brent Brown, bcWORKSHOP's founding director.
Check out more from our Shopfront Series.
Can public, transit-oriented infrastructure be both market-driven and sustainable? Join TJ Bogan Tuesday, November 19th, as he shares how the history of streetcars in the city of Dallas (1872 - 1956) tells us a rich story of civic development and urban expansion driven by private investment for private gain. Before automobiles and publicly funded transportation networks, street rail was the key to urban growth. Benefiting from an era of weak government, foresighted individuals were able to buy up previously exurban land and make it accessible from the urban core, reaping a profit on the increased property value. What was good for them was good for the city.
In the first half of the twentieth century, government regulation increased, and the new accountability proved an insurmountable burden. New modes of transportation were introduced, and automobiles took precedence on the city's streets.
In Dallas, the streetcar rose and fell as a privately funded public amenity. Through analysis of our past, we are now in a position to critique our current subsidized transit infrastructure.
Read more about our Shopfront Series.
Isaac Cohen shares his explorations of the Turtle Creek Corridor and how the layering of use, management, and development has created an urban landscape that provides highly variable and often unexpected experiences. Turtle Creek is often seen as a natural object within the urban fabric; as a visual backdrop to the activities of the city. In reality, Turtle Creek is a dynamic and highly manipulated urban waterway that supports a wide variety of recreational, economic, and ecological activity that reveals to us varied ways groups value and use a shared public space.
Join us in exploring the historic and contemporary use and development of Turtle Creek from the scale of the watershed to the development of George Kessler’s plan for the Turtle Creek Parkway.
Learn more about our work in Dallas.
The POP Neighborhood Stories initiative was recognized this past week by SXSW Eco in Austin, TX as one of 15 finalists from 75 applicants in the Place by Design competition. The competition honors good design “having the ability to reflect a community’s culture and values and compels people to engage with their everyday surroundings.” See all of the Place by Design finalists here, and congratulations to the four great winning projects: Ballroom Luminoso, From Blight to Bright, INSITU, and The Looper.
Over the last year, POP Neighborhood Stories has hosted six celebratory events in the Dallas neighborhoods of La Bajada, Dolphin Heights, Wynnewood North, Tenth Street, Mount Auburn, and the Dallas Arts District, reaching over 1,400 total participants. Each event temporarily transforms space in historic neighborhoods into a celebration of each neighborhood's unique culture and development and provides a platform for dialogue about the history and future. This series of events was made possible in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
We would like to extend our thanks to all of the community members and volunteers that participated in and contributed to these efforts and who make this work possible.
3313 Beall Street, bcWORKSHOP’s first completed sustainABLEhouse in the Dolphin Heights neighborhood, received a jury commendation from the 2013 AIA Dallas Built Design Awards in recognition of outstanding architectural design and achievement. Jennifer Mayfield of bcWORKSHOP was present to accept the award at the Dallas Museum of Art on October 9th. Juror comments included:
“It is important to never lose sight of the social obligation that we have to frame architecture for the public...To have a group of people who are working diligently to create something that would make housing available, to include an extensive participation process, I think is of great importance, and is something we should all be proud of and encourage here in Dallas. I think we have a worldwide problem with housing and this is one way that we can address it successfully.”
