Macon Starks

Read more about the Macon Starks project.

Design meetings have spanned the summer and fall of 2015 for seven new rental homes for seniors in the Ideal neighborhood of South Dallas.  Residents graciously convened over five warm (sweltering may be a more appropriate description for some) Saturdays in the vacant home on site to discuss and develop the design of the series of homes.  Conversation was framed around the current assets, challenges and opportunities of the neighborhood.  From there, discussion focused in on how the proposed homes could become an amenity to the senior residents and community by harnessing select opportunities and facing select challenges.

Currently, the site strategy promotes social interaction among residents as well as physical health and safety by means of internal walking paths, active and passive gardens, and visual connections via specifically oriented porches, windows and doors.

Design meetings are scheduled to wrap up this fall with design development completing in early 2015.

Out of Deepwood Trailer

Read more about Neighborhood Stories and POP.

After months in production, Out of Deepwood is finished! This is the first Neighborhood Stories film of its scale, and we're excited to share the film with everyone. First, however, the neighborhood deserves a sneak peek! The film will be screened for the Shady Hills/Pleasant Grove community on September 19th at the Trinity River Audubon Center. Check out the Trailer below.

Libros Libres a Finalist for SXSW Eco's Place by Design

Read other Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres posts.

We're excited to announce that Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres, our collaboration with Big Thought and Dallas Public Library, has been named a finalist for SXSW Eco's Place By Design competition! We'll see you in Austin this October 6-8.

Be sure to check out the other great finalists as well!

Announcing bcANALYTICS

Watch for future posts about bcANALYTICS here.

Overcoming the major economic and social issues in the city that affect the working poor - jobs, housing, health, child care, and more - requires coordinated data gathering and analysis. Currently, Dallas significantly trails behind its peer cities in this work. Access to reliable, intelligible, and current data can reveal, and help coordinate, the related work of local government, non-profit organizations, business, neighborhood groups, universities, and foundations to improve local decision-making for the advancement of social and physical change in the city. Facilitating the use of data by city and community leaders leads to more targeted and thoughtful response strategies to individual issues, in service to comprehensive strategies.

bcANALYTICS, in partnership with the Communities Foundation of Texas, continues to work with nonprofits of the Data Driven Decision-Making Institute (D3) to deliver tailored analytics reports to fit organizational needs. While these reports answer organization-specific questions, they also address issues shared throughout the region and help guide strategic decision-making for many organizations.

The bcANALYTICS team also works to develop a potential model and implementation proposal to guide Dallas’ incubation of a robust effort to use advanced and continuously updated data to target and inform urban issues affecting the working poor. Research on national best practices will inform this work and help situate Dallas within the national context of organizations using data for community benefit. The project will ultimately evaluate how municipal government, universities, non-profit organizations, consulting agencies, foundations, and others might contribute to a model, and will explore possibilities to advance data sharing and access to address key challenges facing the working poor.

bcANALYTICS also supports other research being undertaken at [bc].

Welcoming Andrew Kramer!

Andrew Kramer has been involved with the nonprofit community in Dallas for seven years, primarily as a fundraiser. His experience has ranged from working with Texas inmates on entrepreneurship and business planning to helping feed local communities at the North Texas Food Bank. Andrew comes to bcWORKSHOP with a strong interest in enabling communities to collaboratively work to solve local problems and improve their livability in changing conditions. Andrew graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin, and received a MBA from Texas Christian University. He is an Eagle Scout, and was awarded a full year scholarship to study in Germany as part of the Fulbright program. Andrew has been a lifelong volunteer working with a variety of organizations focusing on youth and adult literacy, homelessness and hunger issues. Andrew lives in North Oak Cliff with his family and three dogs.

Show Hill Biz Park

Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.

The Tenth Street Historic District was once a self-sufficient place, with a thriving micro-economy that supplied the community with jobs and goods. An intersection between art and economic development, the Show Hill Biz Park activated Show Hill, a streetcar stop and important retail site at 1401 E 8th Street, now vacant, with a pop-up market. The market featured vendors selling locally crafted goods. Vendors had previously completed a certification program designed to develop a small business model that will enable them to successfully bring their goods to market. In addition, the Show Hill Biz Park featured musical and sculptural tributes to the neighborhood’s cultural history. Show Hill Biz Park reinvigorated the latent economic potential of the neighborhood, exploring how local talent can demonstrate the potential for different kinds of commercial and cultural activity in the Tenth Street Historic District.

Check out Photos from the event!


Many of the local vendors had short videos created as part of the program as well. Watch them below!

Ghost Bridges

Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.

The fourth project of Activating Vacancy, entitled Ghost Bridges, took place on June 20th and 21st and was composed of three parts. The event took place on the block bounded by I-35, Tenth Street, Clarendon Drive and Betterton Circle in the center of the neighborhood. A branch of Cedar Creek, now dry, cuts through it, flanked by trees and sloping topography. Paths worn into the ground indicate the desire for a way to traverse this block where currently no roads or trails exist. The lost creek, the footbridges that once crossed it, and a platted street that has only ever existed on paper form the inspiration for Ghost Bridges.

Two site specific installations, one on public land and one private land, remember historic land use and structures, including the now demolished Sunshine Elizabeth Chapel. The works created spaces for the community to gather and reflect on how vacant property is used in the neighborhood and what its future may hold. The third portion of the event was a pop-up gallery around the theme of ORIGINS: Wild Urban Spaces which invited artist from the neighborhood and around the city to display work. A Friday evening tour and gallery opening gave residents and visitors the opportunity to view art and explore the neighborhood in a new way. Tours were also given throughout the day on Saturday. Despite the heat and mosquitos a great time was had by all.

Check out photos from the event!

One Day in LRGV

Learn more about our Storytelling efforts, and the Colonias LID program.

On April 26, 2014, filmmakers, non-profits, and citizens from across the region went out to talk to folks about the future of the Lower Rio Grande Valley as part of One Day in the LRGV. We chatted with residents of the Linda Vista Estates Colonia about issues surrounding stormwater management and drainage.

Library Build Day

Read other Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres posts.

On May 17th, community members, library hosts and stewards, volunteer designers, and project partners gathered at the Lakewest YMCA in West Dallas and the Full City Rooster in the Cedars to build and install their Little Free Libraries. After many weeks of work and much anticipation everyone was excited to finally get to building and reading! It was a beautiful day and much fun was had by all. See for yourself:

Dear House

Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.

Dear House, the third public art project in bcWORKSHOP’s Activating Vacancy initiative in the Tenth Street Historic District, was held on Saturday, May 17, from 7:00-9:00pm at 1319 E Eighth Street.

Dear House explored vacancy as a state, rather than an end, for structures. Through a myriad of artistic actions, Dear House transformed how we, as community residents, understand and engage with vacant structures. Artistic representations were inspired by a series of public writing workshops hosted at local neighborhood institutions including American Care Academy daycare, Eloise Lundy Recreation Center, and Townview Magnet Center. Excerpts from these writings were artistically projected onto the walls of the home via light, video, and other installations, as well as performed as original oral pieces by neighborhood residents during the exhibition opening. Letters and mail art received from both near and far were also featured throughout the home, allowing visitors to open envelopes containing messages of hope and renewal for the vacant structure. Together, these activations challenged the status quo of how vacant structures are cared for, encouraged dialogue and expression with a wide audience about abandoned and vacant spaces, and empowered the community to take ownership of beautifying the house, all while making the surrounding area a safer and more vibrant place to live.

Check out photos from the event!

El Naranjal

Learn more about our work in the RGV.

El Naranjal is a 21 unit infill single-family housing project located in Brownsville, Texas. Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB), who [bc] works closely with on many projects in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, asked [bc] to design a series of three bedroom, two bathroom homes within an existing suburban community aimed at first time homeowners. A main design challenge was to foster community within a nondescript suburban development, while providing the residents with opportunities for choice and individuality.

Ultimately, five different floor plans were designed with a total of nine elevation combinations, affording home-buying families the choice of the design that works best for them. The exterior of the homes are a combination of brick and fiber cement siding, sometimes accented with cedar wood screens. The shared vibrant color and material palette allow the homes to relate to each other and the existing neighbors while maintaining their own identities.

Exterior space was key to the project, with front porches prominently featured and landscaping native to south Texas adorning the homes. Two shared outdoor green spaces, formed where the back yards of the houses connect, provide a unique amenity to the residents of the El Naranjal community.

View photos on Facebook.

South Boulevard

Learn more about South Boulevard.

Design wrapped up this summer on four single-family townhomes to be located on South Boulevard and Thomas Tolbert Avenue in the Jeffries-Meyers neighborhood of South Dallas. Ten weeks of community stakeholder focus groups and on-the-ground engagement drove the design process for the homes.  

Historic, current and future neighborhood identity were common themes of design discussions in the community. Residents desired that the homes would respect the existing neighborhood fabric but also speak to the direction the community wants to take: one that is sustainable, resilient, accessible, diverse and safe. 

The contract for construction of the homes is currently being awarded while the homes are simultaneously being offered for pre-sale by the developer, SouthFair Community Development Corporation.  

Cottages Groundbreaking

A public-private partnership of Dallas organizations broke ground on April 17, 2014, on The Cottages at Hickory Crossing, an innovative permanent supportive housing project and a model for the future in the campaign to end chronic homelessness. When completed, The Cottages at Hickory Crossing will provide homes for 50 chronically homeless Dallas residents who suffer from severe mental illness and have also been involved in the criminal justice system. Residents will live in small, freestanding cottages on a wooded site southeast of downtown and will receive intensive behavioral health services, paired with social services and supports, to improve their lives.

Speakers included Larry James, President & CEO CitySquare, Brent Christopher, President & CEO Communities Foundation of Texas, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Dr. John Burruss, CEO Metrocare Services, and Dallas City Council Member Carolyn Davis of District 7.

Story Corners

Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.

Story Corners, the second project of Activating Vacancy, was an afternoon of open-air storytelling, performances, and a neighborhood fish fry that celebrates the past, present, and future of the historic Tenth Street District. In many of America’s inner cities, there are street corners and vacant lots, porch steps and ‘elder’ trees that have long served as informal gathering places for sharing stories, playing games, socializing and entertaining among residents. But those locations, especially in neighborhoods that suffer from blight and neglect, have also become breeding grounds for drug dealing, prostitution and other criminal activities. In an effort to reclaim the street corner as a site for gathering, Story Corners worked with local residents to record, rehearse and perform their own stories in the Tenth Street Historic District.

On Saturday, April 12th from 1pm to 6pm at the intersection of S. Cliff and E. 11th Streets, current and former residents of the Tenth Street district used their creativity to reinvigorate their community through poetry, prose, spoken word and music. Under the guidance of the Story Corners team of artists and designers, the residents performed materials that they produced from writing and theater workshops on stages that they helped to build.

Check out photos from the event!


Watch the performances below:

 


ACT Headquarters

Learn more about ACT.

ACT (Advocates for Community Transformation) is an inner-city justice ministry based in West DallasACT’s mission is to represent inner-city residents and mobilize volunteer legal teams in order to hold the owners of drug houses and abandoned properties accountable.  In order to continue seeking transformation in the neighborhoods that need it most, ACT has determined that it is crucial to establish a permanent presence in West Dallas.  For this reason, ACT came to [bc] to design a new office that meets the growing group’s needs at the center of the communities it serves.  

Construction is set to begin on the office in 2015.

See photos of ACT on Facebook!

What's New with Rapido?

Learn more about Rapido.

Check out the slides below and learn more about what's new with Rapido!

6 years have passed since Hurricane Dolly hit the Texas Gulf Coast, making landfall and causing $1.35 Billion USD in damage. As one of the poorest areas in the United States, the Rio Grande Valley was already a risk population economically and environmentally. The insecurity increased as an under prepared disaster recovery management system left many families still struggling to this day. The Lower Rio Grande Rapid Housing Recovery Pilot Program (RAPIDO) proposes a local approach when responding to a natural disaster. The structure of the plan will be replicable across regions, while components of the plan will allow for local adaptation and implementation as needed. The overarching program design principle is predicated on local residents, organizations, professional firms, builders and municipal leaders, working with some guidance from outside experts to design and implement a Statewide plan proposal. RAPIDO’s program goals are two-fold: (1) Have a system up and ready to conduct outreach and intake within 20 to 30 days of a disaster and (2) Have a family back in their home on their property within 120 days of client application.

RAPIDO rethinks the actual reconstruction model to increase the availability of affordable housing and improve the quality of housing built after a disaster. The design process examines not only architectural issues but every level of the process, specifically the social, economic and political contexts that make up a disaster scenario. RAPIDO is understanding, and re-designing the entire process in order to integrate the relief and recovery phases allowing a rapid response. RAPIDO’s construction strategy is phased in two parts. In phase one families will receive a standardized “CORE” home that contains essential living facilities, Families will reside in their core until resources and time allow for expansion, at which point (second phase) homes will be added on to accommodate long-term family needs and desires.  The pilot program will build 20 prototype units for residents of Willacy, Cameron and Hidalgo County affected by Hurricane Dolly (2008).

Take a Book, Leave a Book

This is the first post in a series about the Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres project.

Little Free Libraries/Libros Libres is a literacy and community design initiative in Dallas, TX that pairs neighborhood residents and organizations with local designers to build small book shelters, creating new gathering spaces that promote literacy and community building. Part of the Little Free Library movement, started by Todd Bol and Rick Brooks, this project promotes community ownership, encourages frequent use, and ensures the longevity of each library, improving the built environment alongside literacy in urban areas.

The project was initiated as a collaboration between bcWORKSHOP, Big Thought, and the Dallas Public Library. Between now and May 2014, designers will be paired with neighborhood stewards to build up to 20 Little Free Libraries in neighborhoods in the Lincoln and Madison (South Dallas/Fair Park) and Pinkston (West Dallas) high school feeder patterns. Using a $100 budget, community members will work with volunteer designers and artists to design and build the libraries. Free books will be supplied to stock the libraries, which are located in public places chosen by community members.

Learn more at lfldallas.org

The Ark on Noah Street

Read all the Activating Vacancy posts, and learn more about POP Dallas.

We built an ark in the Tenth Street Historic District. Inspired by Noah Street, named for Noah Penn, one of the neighborhood’s pioneers and a founder of Greater El Bethel Baptist Church, the Ark consists of a superstructure of reclaimed and salvaged materials from the neighborhood built around a 20-foot shipping container and displayed at 1127 E 10th St (at the corner of Noah St and Cliff St behind Greater El Bethel Baptist Church). The Ark on Noah Street was the first project completed as a part of Activating Vacancy in the Tenth Street Historic District. Envisioned by artists Christopher Blay and constructed with help from neighborhood residents, the Ark was opened during a festival on March 1st, 2014.

During the festival commemorating the Ark, its interior was transformed into a gallery of collages of family and institutional narratives created by local community members, brought in a processional to the Ark. Following the festival, the Ark will remain on display for 40 days and 40 nights. When disassembled, the Ark will be stored within the container to be resurrected as part of a yearly ritual. The metaphor of the Ark represents the neighborhood and its families and institutions as a vessel for culture and memory and its annual resurrection as a means for celebrating the place’s journey across the years.

Read more about The Ark!

Check out Photos from the event!

Design Gallery

Read more about the Disaster Recovery Round 2 work in Houston.

16 Preliminary home design boards were displayed for community review and feedback on Thursday, February 27th. The designs presented were a result of the collaborative design process between the project team, local design architects, community participants, residents and DR2 applicants from the CRA and Outreach Neighborhoods; Acres Homes, Independence Heights, Near Northside, Fifth Ward, OST/ South Union, and Sunnyside. To view the designs, and learn more about the project, visit: dr2homedesign.org

Check out photos from the event on our Facebook page!