a substantially small step
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2010-2011 Architectural Thesis Major Advisor
Minor Advisor
| Ben McHugh| Dr. Wes Janz
| Robert Koester
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AbstractCase Studies
Acadiana Outreach CenterGreen Chair ProjectMillennium Place Park Pavilion
Muncie, Indiana Home | Community | Potential
Urban Light Community GardenThe Small Steps Already TakenThe Path AheadServices Rendered
The ShopA Building for Future Buildings’ SakeUrban Initiatives
Community IncubatorFaceted ConstructionCultivating New Business and New Knowledge
Source Review
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Abstract
The world is full of life. The back alleys, mansions, cigarette shops, organic grocery stores, soup kitchens and
steak houses take in the same flesh and muscle, the same breath and bones. Regardless of socio-economic
classes, political leanings, sexual orientation, age, or the limitless other “differences” we have, we all exist
as life. And despite how some may believe the contrary, we are all human beings with human needs and
human rights. Every generation since civilization seems to have the same problem of privilege and poverty;
like good and evil, the latter is detested but accepted as unchangeable. But there have always been those
speaking in hope about their dreams of social betterment and justice for the downtrodden.
A substantially small step is one that recognizes the great influence of even the smallest project in restoring
a struggling community. It also replaces the process of flattening a neighborhood to rebuild from scratch
to that of using the people and energy of the place to build one idea on top of another. In this gradual,
building method, each new step is a reaction to the success of the previous step, so that every project is
relevant to the current needs of the community. Based on experience in the community and finding the
energy already pulsing through the South Central neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana, I set out to build upon
existing projects that have been working for years as I envision the possible future for this community
should they take a certain series of steps. My hope is that we can see the potential of a place through
examining the steps taken to get there.
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A Substantially Small Step...
...recognizes the significance of small, deliberate steps within the
process of revitalizing a community.
...realizes that the community must be involved with and dedicated to
the projects from the beginning to maximize its potential for success.
...is a repeatable project that focuses on the needs identified within
the community, then acts accordingly. The project is repeatable even
though the built outcome could be completely different when the
needs are competely different.
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Acadiana Outreach Center - Lafayette, LA
The Acadiana Outreach Center’s mission is “Giving people back their God-given dignity.” They accomplish
this goal through assessing real needs and through social programming; and instead of looking to provide
as many “hand-outs” as possible, they work with each individual to
determine specific needs and steps to solutions to assure they are
not just feeding the various problems and addictions. In 2003, they
contacted the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Building Institute to
develop a new master plan for their campus, which set into movement
a highly productive and educational partnership.
Parasol Commons Seating [Acadiana] The first construction project undertaken by the Building Institute was
a seating are for the commons space previously seen as a barren and
uninviting wasteland. The concept was simple, design a space with
seating and shade that can remain dry and cool. It was also intended
to serve as a template to be reused in other areas of need that could be
built with simple construction knowledge and a small budget. Besides
providing a wonderful place to sit for the residents, this project was a
very unique, hands-on learning experience for the students involved
in the project. It let students experience the task of laying out the
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footing and pouring the concrete; it also taught them about timber
construction and joinery.
New Leaf Garden Gazebo [Acadiana]
In the same year as the Commons Seating project, the New Leaf
Garden Gazebo was being built on the far edge of the campus.
This gazebo gives credence to my plan of a community owned
and designed project because the residents of the community
were involved at all levels of design and construction. Just a small
pavilion was a major boost for the residents; they could now gather
under it on how summer days while the grill was going, or get a
little respite after weeding the nearby neighborhood garden. It
goes to show that if someone comes in with a lot of energy and
hope for a space, those around them will likely be excited to get
involved as well; when they see what a space previously seen as
useless can become with some energy and effort, the drive becomes
contagious. As further proof of the inspiration resulting from this
project, the residents initiated a major clean-up campaign upon the
completion of the gazebo because when you create something you
are proud of, it gives you the necessary energy and desire to keep
repeating that process to the rest of your life.
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Commons Performance Space [Acadiana]
The Performance Space again speaks to the success of the
partnership between the Acadiana Outreach Center and the
Building Institute especially in the amount of donated materials
and labor to get the job done. The project again speaks to the
ownership of space and taking back the life that had previously
been missing from the site and from the residents. There was an
amazing force of reconciliation at play during the construction
when college students can work with the residents who suffer
from homelessness, drug abuse or physical abuse and also with
a small group of convicts from the local sheriff’s department.
After the publication and inspiration found in the previous
projects, the people working on the performance space were
able to come together because they knew that the differences
they had should not deprive them of the experience of working
towards a common goal of helping those in need.
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Green Chair Project - Minneapolis, MN
Starting in South Minneapolis in 1991, the Green Chair Project was a
response to a couple lawn chairs being stolen from the backyard of
two artists, Chris Hand and Joel Sisson. Hand and Sisson decided to go
about designing and building a total of 90 Adirondack chairs with the
help of 14 local teenagers. In a similar strategy to the Acadiana projects,
these two artists responded to their injustice by addressing the larger
prejudice towards their neighbors as an opportunity for reconciliation
and education.
The project served as reconciliation and education on multiple levels.
The teenagers, who would be assumed as gang members, were given
fundamental lessons in mathematics, problem solving, physical activity and following careful directions.
The neighborhood and those outside of it were also given the lesson that just because a group of teens
in a drug-addled neighborhood have made mistakes in the past, they are capable of contributing to the
community; you just have to reach them on a different level than a test based education.
Hand and Sisson were able to identify an opportunity when it came along, and instead of reporting their
chairs missing or hunting down those that took them, they reacted in kindness. They reacted in a way they
thought a police arrest or investigation couldn’t because when a problem is removed, another problem
usually just fills its place. Their strategy was instead to use these troubled teens, possibly the source of the
problem, and use them to bring about something respectable.
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Millennium Place Park Pavilion - Muncie, IN
In conjunction with the Muncie Urban Design Studio, Professor
Olon Dotson and a small studio designed and built a pavilion
for the newly established Millennium Place neighborhood in
Muncie, IN during the spring semester of the 2005-06 school
year. As part of the neighborhood redevelopment, the studio’s
pavilion would be included for the central park. This applies to
my project because it further demonstrates the energy going
into reinventing Muncie and it was done very heavily under
the direction of students.
However, as far as I can tell, the design and implementation
was completed without much or any input from the
community members. I am sure that the people are
appreciative and enjoy the pavilion, but I hope to begin
my project with the notion that by the end, the people will
know it is their own because they played major roles in its
production.
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Home | Community | Potential
Muncie, Indiana holds a place in my heart; my pregnant wife, my dog and my home are here, my roots are
taking place. Besides that, Muncie holds great potential to be an inspiration for others when they look
to finally pay attention and give back power and dignity to the poor and victimized people in their own
communities. It has also already been given a good deal of support in the way of facelifts to a few key areas;
downtown façade restorations, Millennium Place and Ball State University being the main ones.
The downtown façade restoration program has
taken ahold of downtown Muncie and has moved
it in a great direction, including attracting Ivy Tech
to move some classes into a newly renovated
building. The restoration endeavor really showed
me that a shabby and downtrodden community of
people and buildings can be given a simple facelift
that begins to usher in new life and energy. While
downtown Muncie is still struggling with attracting
large groups of people, interest is definitely
increasing.
Seeing Munsyanna Homes being renovated to
become Millennium Place and trying to wrap my
head around the level of filth that many people
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were living in combined with the amount of drug use/solicitation, prostitution and violence that took
place there just eight years ago gives me great hope. It is a wonderful inspiration that such time, effort and
resources would be put towards helping a community where a large share of the population would not be
seen as “deserving” by today’s standards. Though later phases were nixed from the master plan, the new
housing stock with a centralized park and playground areas gives the neighborhood back to the residents.
It is no longer dominated by the destructive activities that used to control it; even if they still take place, the
community is now controlled by the families.
Ball State University has taken to redesigning its campus over
the past eight years in a dramatic fashion. Infrastructural
improvements, new and completely renovated dormitories
and facilities have all been coordinated to give the university a
better aesthetic to help attract students. Ball State’s face lift is
helpful for Muncie as a whole as well when it attracts business
and outside investment, but there has always been a disconnect
between the university and the city. Ball State and its resources
have the potential to instigate dramatic change for Muncie in better ways than just aesthetics or economics;
Professor Olon Dotson being an integral part of the Millennium Place redevelopment being just one
example. With thousands of students descending on one campus from all over the world and professors
from all forms of vocation, there is a powerful and intelligent force of thinkers, workers and instigators just
waiting for the opportunity to use what they’ve been taught for the good of their community.
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The Small Steps Already Taken
As a source of inspiration, I studied the success of the Urban Light Garden. A few years ago, a once
abandoned lot was bought by a couple from a local church and a simple vegetable and flower garden
was planted. After a few brief years, it has continued to grow and continue to reach into the community
members’ lives. However, the garden’s success is due to many factors besides just a dedicated couple to get
the ball rolling.
The garden owes much of its success to fulfilling needs and desires identified within the community and
fulfilling them in full partnership with neighbors and outside facilitators alike. Garnering new relationships,
building knowledge, getting exercise, obtaining healthy food, and monetary profit are all obtainable with
the garden. Better yet, though, is the example it gives for the collaboration of multiple sites. The Urban
Light Garden is part of a network of other gardens in the city of Muncie that communicate with each other
to gather workers when needed and spread extra resources when obtained.
The great potential of the garden lies in its permanentization within the community. It started small, with
a few dedicated contributors, but gradually gained in participation and output. Besides just looking nice, it
has also been able to serve as a partial and occasionally a major source of food for those in the community.
Seeing the growth and support of the one garden has also inspired others to buy abandoned lots for re-
purposing. Among the plans in process are a mini apple-orchard, space for a small fish hatchery, and the
development of a modulated greenhouse that could be implemented with little monetary input and in a
small amount of time by local builders in a multitude of lots.
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Urban Garden
The Urban Light Community
Garden is just one part of a growing
network of gardens that share
ideas, workers and supplies to be
as effective as possible in serving
the communities in which they
exist. And although their specific
garden only serves an immediate
neighborhood, it has the potential
to start reaching out to larger
communities nearby
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The LaPrees are part of local church in the neighborhood, and a
number of years ago they decided to intentionally move into this
underprivileged socioeconomic community along with a group
of other families to better understand they people to whom they
wanted to minister. They realized that they could not completely
sympathize with their needs if they never experienced their
hardships. Along with having a more holistic idea of what they
struggle with on a day to day basis, they also were able to truly
become part of the community.
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The Path Ahead
The LaPrees saw a need in their neighborhood for a community garden, so they set out to find an empty to
rehab into a garden. Just a block away was a great corner lot, so they bought it and began work.
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For five years now, the garden has been taking root in the community. 11 nearby households now take part
in the planting, upkeep, and picking, each utilizing it for whichever need or desire they have.
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Understanding the factors that have led to the success of the first garden, others have begun to buy vacant
lots to propose other plans to help renovate the neighborhood.
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So, if one garden can provide a set of services for 11 households, 9 repurposed lots has the potential to serve
99 households so long as each time it is a community need driven endeavor.
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After years of development and production on vacant lots in conjunction with building a wood shop in
a nearby furniture store, the neighborhood would be seeing evidence of a united effort for revitalization.
Homes will be fixed up, gardens and greenhouses abound, and new business open with the assistance of
the community incubator.
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Services Rendered
Of the many reasons the community garden is beneficial,
there are a few main deliverables that serve to promote basic
needs for those who participate. New relationships are built
and new knowledge and teamwork skills are gained. They
spend time outside breathing fresh air and getting exercise to
help maintain a better overall health. And depending on the
success of the garden and the diligence of the workers, it can
generate enough produce for general use in the neighborhood
or it could provide enough to be sold in markets. Yet one
of the greatest assets to be gained is the next generation of
leaders being raised in an environment of cooperation and
hard work that can show direct results from the time and
energy that have been put into the task at hand.
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2
8
3
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4
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Drill Press
Jointer
Table Saw
Miter Saw
Wood Lathe
Sanders
Planer
Bandsaw
Sawdust Collection
Air Compressor
Bathroom
A Building for Future Buildings’ Sake
The Shop is an integral step in this proposal because it has the
potential to be a source of education, relation building, exercise
and profit. With art and vocational training hitting roadblocks
in schools today, The Shop could provide essential life skills
coupled with creativity and problem solving that kids may
not be learning at the traditional public school. Local skilled
craftsmen are also given the opportunity to become leaders and
teachers, which builds a whole new set of skills itself. By learning
how to work together and come together to create something
of value, you learn how to create valuable relationships with those around you even if they have differences
that once seemed insurmountable. People, skilled and unskilled alike, would have a place for production if
they were looking to renovate their home, create pieces of art or generate commercial goods for a profit.
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Urban Initiatives
Upon completion of the wood shop rehab project, the
neighborhood would then be fully equipped to start
on a new venture of vocational training, education, and
entrepreneurship. Along with local residents who have
expertise in gardening, building, plumbing and wiring, the
local youth have the opportunity to learn first hand these ever
important skills. With so many empty lots and open space in
general, there is sufficient space to build, learn, experiment
and innovate. And when the community incubator begins
construction, the shop will be invaluable, as will all the new
experts as designers, constructors and experienced workers
for building something directly for and by the community.
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Faceted Construction
Besides the benefit it provides once built, the Community
Incubator also serves an important role during design
and construction. At a time when it would be built, the
community will already have been working together in
community gardens, rehabbing homes, creating in The Shop
and hopefully taking their neighborhood back from the
clutches of obscurity. They will have the skills, knowledge
and relationships in place that allows them to come together
and take the reins when it comes time to design and then
build this structure. Better still is that it could be built in
stages, so that they can add to it when a need arises or if
they realize that they do not need as many offices, but the
classrooms are always filled to the brim. The design is only a
possible vision of the future, but it is based on the principles
found in the community garden: it is addressing a need seen
in the community (joblessness and lack of proper education),
it would be spearheaded by a dedicated few, and it reaches
out into the community in a meaningful and honest manner
to provide services for whoever desires them.
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Cultivating New Business and New Knowledge
The Community Incubator works along the same avenue of a “business incubator,”
which provides all the amenities a small business needs under one roof without
the hassle of trying to find a building to move into that might need all sorts of
repairs or technological updates. It follows that model in that it also provides all
inclusive services and amenities for local small businesses, but moves beyond that
by providing educational and experimentation spaces in or near the building. The
spaces included are based on conversations with some of the nearby residents
as well as a working knowledge of a business incubator located across town. The
design works to provide a contemporary element on an otherwise drab stretch of
road, calling out the fact that the neighborhood it most specifically works with is
worth noticing and worth investment.
The building is situated mostly on the West-East axis to provide nominal and
controllable light for the classroom and office spaces. Because they are deeper than
they are tall, the classrooms are also given skylights that will direct light down onto
the classroom walls, not the desks, to provide the preferred indirect light. All spaces
have operable windows and the classrooms each have their own exterior doorway
for break-out sessions and ease of access for any quick brakes. A roof garden is
located above the classrooms and is accessible for the second floor hallway. It can be
useful for any number of gardening lessons, as well as a place to relax or eat lunch.
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MA
DIS
ON
STR
EET
6TH STREET
1 1 1 1
7
2
8
8
3 3 4
5
6Offices
Restrooms
Classrooms
Conference Room
N First Floor
1
7
2
8
3
4
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Main Lobby
Administration
HVAC Ducts
Fire Stairs
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7
HVAC Ducts
Fire Stairs
Classrooms
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8
9 9 9 9
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N Second Floor
7
8
Conference Room
Rest Rooms
Roof Garden9
11
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12
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Source Review
Acadiana Outreach Center - UL Lafayette Building Institute
Among other projects, this website details the design/construction projects done by the Building
Institute at UL Lafayette. It offers yearly assessments throughout the various phases of completion for the
Acadiana campus. This website offered some of the first inspirational images and stories that convinced
me to do this sort of project
“Acadiana Outreach Center.” UL Lafayette: Building Institute. Web. Fall 2010. <http://buildinginstitute.
louisiana.edu/>.
Design Like You Give a Damn
This books goes through a multitude of humanitarian focused design projects ranging from temporary
shelters to permanent schools, but they are all focused on helping the people who use them or
challenging others to think more critically about what is happening in the world. It featured a couple
buildings that first introduced me to the Rural Studio.
Architecture for Humanity, ed. Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises.
New York, NY: Metropolis, 2006. Print.
Architects Without Frontiers
Though the book focuses on war-torn cities and how they could or should be rebuilt, the theory runs over
into depressed cities as well. Focusing on local vernacular and building materials, it goes on to support
the important concepts of designing for and with the indigenous people.
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Charlesworth, Esther Ruth. Architects Without Frontiers: War, Reconstruction and Design Responsibility.
Oxford: Elsevier/Architectural, 2006. Print.
Urban Recipes
This site documents as series of artistic and architectural interventions throughout various city settings. It
was amusing sometimes and compelling at others, but it was always inspiring.
Cirugeda, Santiago. “Urban Recipes.” RECETAS URBANAS. Web. Fall 2010. <http://www.recetasurbanas.
net/>.
Citizen Architect
This is an amazing DVD that chronicles a house design and construction by the Rural Studio while also
speaking about Samuel Mockbee’s thoughts and views that either contrast or contribute to the views of
other players in the profession. One of the most compelling parts of the movie is seeing the relationships
being forged between the neighbors, the professors and the students.
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio. Dir. Sam W. Douglas. Carnivalesque
Films/Big Beard Films, 2010. DVD.
Compared to What?
An article featured on Archinect by Professor Wes Janz that lets us into the head of an empassioned
humanitarian and thinker as he and his students travel through distressed areas around the Midwest.
Being my major advisor, it’s interesting to read about how he thinks and writes compared to how he
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speaks with us as students. One of the very important traits anyone should have, this article speaks of
honesty even at the risk of sounding prejudiced, and if we are exposed in our honesty, we risk pain, but it
is also an invitation for others to join in and open up.
Janz, Wes. “Compared to What?” Archinect - Making Architecture More Connected. Web. Fall 2010. <http://
archinect.com/features/article.php?id=50579_0_23_0_C>.
First Name Basis
Another honest article from Wes Janz, this one moves around much more, focusing on many similar
thoughts from different locations instead of different thoughts of one location.
Janz, Wes. “First Name Basis.” Design Altruism Project. Web. Fall 2010. <http://design-altruism-project.
org/?p=86>.
Project H Design
The various projects done by Project H speak to the “small step” appeal of tailoring the learning and
design process to each new client. Their work has a staying and growing power that I desire for my own
project.
Project H Design. Web. Fall 2010. <http://projecthdesign.org/>.
Rural Studio
The Rural Studio is one of the main inspirations behind my desire for this project. The design process
is rooted in the client’s desires and needs and they must work within a relatively tight budget, but
the projects always turn out as high quality “capital a” Architecture. They are also educational at their
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core, showing the students that they are capable of building a house as they are given the proper
encouragement, tools and assitance.
“Rural Studio.” CADC - College of Architecture, Design and Construction. Web. Fall 2010. <http://www.cadc.
auburn.edu/rural-studio/Default.aspx>.
The Green Chair Project
This project came forth from a potentially bad situation of stolen property, but it resulted in a wonderful
lesson on reconciliation. After having a couple chairs stolen from their back yard, two artists recruited a
group of at-rist teenagers to help them build a set of 90 new chairs that they then handed out in pairs to
everyone on their block for free. Instead of assuming these kids were good-for-nothings, these two artists
saw the potential and worked with it to educate and inspire everyone around them.
“The Green Chair Project.” The Green Chair Project. Web. Fall 2010. <http://curtprins.com/pro_bono/
greenchair.org/index.html>.
Photo Credits
Acadiana Outreach Center: Brad Priekulis
Green Chair Project: Joel Sisson and Chris Hand
Millennium Place Park Pavilion: Ben Ross
Muncie Facade Renovation: ppt by Gretchen Cheesman
Muncie Community Garden & Dream Club Site: Jennifer LaPrees and Emilie Carpenter
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