What Do You See? A project by the Emerging Leaders of Architecture

Emerging Leaders in Architecture

​An Honors Academy of the Virginia Society AIA

The ELA was “designed to develop future leaders in architecture firms, in communities, and in the profession.” This year I am honored to be one of 15 members from around the state. For our class project this year we have been given the task of evaluating and brainstorming ideas for the development of a small area of Richmond. The community of Old Manchester is located just south of the James River. It is a diverse community made up of residential, commercial, industrial, and many vacanct proporties. These factors make it a prime location for us to study.

This year’s class has decided to go in a slightly different direction than last year’s class. The previous class was able to present their findings on the study of the city or Norfolk in our firm last year. (an article about last year’s project…

http://www.aiava.org/professional-development/emerging-professionals/emerging-leaders-in-architecture/2010-ela-class-page/

This year, we are building a kiosk! One of the main themes that kept coming up in the beginning stages of discussions was how to respectfully engage with the community. There have been many studies of this area, and many community leaders have been repeatedly approached by groups interested in bettering this neighborhood. We are very aware of our limited time in the program and were worried of making false promises we would not be able to keep. As a group, we developed the idea of using an object as a vehicle of communication. The images below outline our schematic model. We have chosen 4 key sites for this kiosk to be constructed and displayed. Inside it will house the studies of the neighborho

od and have interactive components for both children and adults.The kiosk will be set up at each site for one day with select members there to answer questions. All in all, it is a kind of social experiment to try to see what people would like to see in their own community. The kiosk and our findings will be on display in the exhibition space at ArchEx in Richmond in November. If you are interested in keeping up with the project we have started a facebook page and twitter account. Also let me know if you would like to be add

ed to our email list.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-Do-You-See/134894846593899

Location 1 - Trycicle Gardens is a very successful community garden project located in the heart of Manchester http://tricyclegardens.org/

Location 2 - Corner of the Courthouse square.

Location 3 - The parking lot of a Residential building that is adjacent to the Hull Street Bridge heading back to downtown Richmond

Location 4 - The Public Library

Our design

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