Storefront in the Community with Friends of Forest Hill Park

Friends of Forest Hill Park
Forest Hill Park contains a couple historic buildings in need of roof repairs. These are the Old Stone House and stables in the the park. Storefront will help direct the conversation within the community to make sure that all facets of these historic sites are told.

The Old Stone House in Forest Hill Park.

If you think you might be interested in these projects, give us a shout at hello@storefrontrichmond.org

mOb fall 2017

mObians have already ventured out to several corners of Richmond and the surrounding areas to tackle projects that range from mental health awareness on VCU's campus to Monument Avenue, from City Hall to the combined sewage overflow systems in Richmond. 

Check out the mOb projects that launched earlier this month here.

Shown below, undergraduate mOb students are working on sketches of monuments that they would like to see in Richmond. What might you make a monument to in this city?

Golden Hammer Awards 2017

 

Let's take a look at the projects that have made a positive and revitalizing impact on Richmond this past year

---

Firstly, what are the Golden Hammer Awards?

The Golden Hammer Awards were started in 2000 with a goal of honoring excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects throughout the Greater-Richmond Area. Storefront for Community Design and Historic Richmond are partnering together to host the awards with support from the Better Housing Coalition. Read more here.

Do you know a project that is deserving of the Golden Hammer Award?

Nominate a project or apply through our application page. Projects must have been complete after January 1, 2016. Four awards will be given out and applicants will be considered for the categories: Best Restoration, Best Adaptive Reuse Project, Best New Construction, and Best Placemaking Project. 

We are enthused to present this year's awards alongside the folks at Historic Richmond. The ceremony will be held on November 2nd, 2017 at Monumental Church. Join us for our panel discussion titled The History, Development and Revitalization of Northside Streetcar Suburbs. Following the lecture, we will present the 2017 Golden Hammer Awards. This year's award has been designed and produced by students from the mOb Studio.

If you have further questions about the application process, the event, project eligibility, or sponsorship, email goldenhammer@storefrontrichmond.org.

Six Points Innovation Center Opens

We want to give a huge thank you to everyone who came out to the Grand Opening of the Six Points Innovation Center! This is an exciting time for the Highland Park neighborhood and for all of us, so it was great to share that with so many warm, smiling faces!

Here's just a sampling of what's happening over the summer:

• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Training

• Empowered for Life Class- 4 Day job readiness program

• Gender Neutral Bathroom Mosaic Curated by I Am My Life

• Green Team Energy Audit -Assessment to create 6PIC sustainability plan

• Changemakers Mural Project

• Urban Agriculture Corps Various Site Projects

• Groundwork RVA/ Bus Rapid Transit - Teaching young people to ride bus rapid transit!

Highland Park Spring Break 2017

On Saturday April 29th, Highland Park residents joined us for the Highland Park Spring Break Event. The event featured 8 different non-profit organizations working within the community. The goal was to engage with community members about how they might envision the growth of their neighborhood, to describe the resources these organizations offered, and most importantly to eat, dance, and perform in the talent show. 

At least 100 people showed up to dance, hear about the Storefront for Community Design, Groundwork RVA, Saving Our Youth, the CPDC, LISC, and Tricycle Gardens. On display in the 6PIC space were plans for architectural plans for local business improvements that community members voted on. The day was unusually hot but that didn't stop the talent show from continuing!

mOb First Friday

Join us for the final First Friday exhibition of the semester at mOb this Friday, May 5th, from 6:30--8:30. Students will be showing off their final outcomes from projects including a new design plan for the south side of the T. Pott Memorial Bridge, some swag for the Richmond Volleyball Club, and some fantastic graphics from the newly formed mOb Press Club.

spring at mOb

What has been going on at mOb recently? Read on for a quick rundown of the activity at the studio this semester.

We started off the semester with a quick design competition amongst the students to redesign the Golden Hammer Award. The Golden Hammer Awards are a recognition of excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects in the Greater Richmond Area. Learn more about the awards next week. 

The students then began working in teams on 11 projects throughout the semester. 

Last Saturday, students headed to Greensville County to clean up the site of an old Rosenwald School, the Greensville County Training School. The interdisciplinary team of students has been working on an identity for the new space, a plan for its repurposing, and a series of brochures and on site graphics to raise awareness.

Another team of students is working with the Richmond Volleyball Club to make their graphics speak to a new, younger demographics. 

The Minority AIDS Support Services group is working to create a comfortable, discrete space in their offices in Hampton, VA, where community members can get tested for HIV and feel supported and comfortable around other clients the non-profit serves. They are exploring interior design solutions for a shared waiting room space. 

A team of students is working for another semester with Brooks Diner in Northside to redesign their exterior sign and offer solutions for a patio while yet another group of students is helping to redesign the look of the Afrikana Film Festival. A smaller, yet fastidious nonetheless, student team is working with the VCU Police downtown to design spatial solutions to make the entrance to new offices on Broad St more abiding and in turn, help them fulfill their mission of becoming better neighbors in downtown Richmond. 

Stay tuned for final solutions and mark your calendars for our First Friday opening next month!

FFF: mOb + the Golden Hammer Awards

Join us on Friday, February 3rd (6:30p to 8:30p) to check out our student designers' prototypes for the Golden Hammer Awards. The past two weeks, mOb students have been tasked with redesigning the award given out at the Golden Hammer Awards, hosted this year by Historic Richmond and Storefront. See you there!

Miracle Needed

Storefront is seeking volunteers to propose a redesign the storefront of Miracles store in Church Hill. Do you have an idea for new signage, a color scheme or something to make this shop stand out?

Contact Adele (adele@storefrontrichmond.org) if you are a designer interested in this storefront improvement project.

Design plan for erosion control in Highland Park

Our neighbor in Highland Park, Ms Minor Young is in need of your landscaping and erosion engineering advice. This house has been in her family since the 1970s and is situated just at the edges of Richmond City and Henrico County. In the past year, the ravine in the backyard has begun encroaching on the house.

Storefront is seeking an architect or engineer to assist the property owner in developing a plan of action for her yard. She is also seeking a landscape architect who may aid her in identifying and replacing invasive species with new and native trees and shrubs.