Storefront Kicks Off Inaugural DesignRVA Celebration

Storefront for Community Design announced its inaugural DesignRVA celebration will take place on June 24 at The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design. This year DesignRVA highlights the critical need in areas of health and wellness, land use, transportation, and housing. The event will initiate community ideas and focus conversation around the question, “How would YOU design a more equitable and fair Greater Richmond?” 

The launch of our DesignRVA program is one way, we’re sharing the power of design with the Richmond community. We’re always excited to engage with people and demonstrate to them that they have the capacity to improve their neighborhoods as well as themselves. through design.
— Bernard Harkless, Board Chair

DesignRVA is a one-of-a-kind free event that introduces children ages 8-14 to the design of our area, while informing them how their voices can be a part of the planning, creation, and improvement of the places where we live, work, and play. Storefront for Community Design invites families from across Greater Richmond to participate in this inaugural community day.

This will be a unique, hands-on experience for the children that participate that they won’t be able to get anywhere else. We want to let Children’s ideas run wild in designing Richmond from the ground up, and there will be many activities planned for them.
— Shawn Balon, Executive Director

Children and families will engage with volunteers from community-based organizations and design professions like architecture, engineering, urban planning, and construction to build elements of a neighborhood. Children will take their elements to a designated communal space, which will evolve throughout the day, and build a shared vision of a more equitably built environment for their community. A stamped event “passport” will serve as a unique event souvenir for participants. Food trucks and entertainment are also part of the day.