Following an intense weekend of information-gathering and design, six local nonprofits are armed with concrete materials to start making redevelopment and remodeling projects a reality.
The Search for Shelter Charrette through the
Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is an annual workshop that offers up pro bono design labor to local nonprofit agencies working in affordable housing and homelessness.
This year's event, which ran Feb. 11-13 at the University of Minnesota's
College of Design, attracted 42 volunteer architects, landscape and interior designers, and students, who split into six teams, according to Jacquelyn Peck, a Minnesota AIA representative.
Participating nonprofits, which were selected through a competitive process, this year included the
Salvation Army Harbor Light Center,
Selby Avenue Action Coalition,
Emma Norton Services,
Rebuilding Together Twin Cities,
Families Moving Forward, and
Woodland Hills Church.
One team worked on a plan for the Emma Norton facility downtown St. Paul, according to Peck.
Some volunteers studied the possibility of building out a coffee shop on the shelter's ground floor.
They walked around the area to assess the potential market for
a new coffee shop. Nearby were clinics and businesses, but there wasn't
much in the way of restaurants or food services, she says.
Besides filling a business niche, an in-house coffee shop could be a
source of revenue for Emma Norton while providing jobs for women staying
at the shelter, she explains.
Another couple of teams brainstormed ways to improve some blocks along Selby Avenue between Dale and Lexington avenues in St. Paul. As a part of a project for the Selby Avenue Coalition, they came up with a jazz theme that ties into an annual festival that could have "more of a year-round presence through art or images or music studios."
Both teams "captured the spirit of the street through design and research," Peck says.
For the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, a roomful of mattresses on the floor was reconfigured with bunk beds that give people more personal space, including storage cabinets. Keeping sightlines clear while also providing a secure place for people's belongings was important, she explains.
She says the volunteers received plenty of praise from the nonprofits and "they're excited to take the next step."
Likewise, the vast majority of volunteers responded positively, saying they would do it again. "I think it was a good event for the volunteers as well as the agencies," Peck says.
Source: Jacquelyn Peck, AIA-Minnesota representative
Writer: Anna Pratt