HKS Design Fellowship 2010
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“It is like I have the cure for cancer, but no one will give me a bottle to ship it in.” OMAR JAHWAR FOUNDER OF VISION REGENERATION
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“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.� Franklin D. Roosevelt
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WAKE UP
There is a problem
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Recently, there has been an 83% increase in gang-related arrests in Dallas 9
BUT
This man has a solution ...
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that is the spark that ignited this year’s challenge 13
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Table of
Contents
WHAT IS THE HKS DESIGN FELLOWSHIP? 14 THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGE 16 SOLUTION A 26 SOLUTION B 40 SOLUTION C 56 THE FUTURE 70 15
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WHAT IS THE HKS DESIGN FELLOWSHIP?
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he HKS Design Fellowship brings together our brightest, design-minded talent from all over the world and pairs them with students to work on a specific design problem.
Our goal is to cultivate emerging design talent, excite and stimulate new ideas, and deepen our design philosophy across all of our offices in an effort to continue to raise the quality of design at HKS for our clients and our communities.
Steroids for the design side of the mind.
Going beyond an isolated design exercise, the charrette seeks participation from key community stakeholders. The product of each year’s event is a deliverable that may be used to help further the issue being addressed.
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THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
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t is not often that you meet an individual with enthusiasm and charisma that can inspire people to believe in their ethos with just the first few words. Omar Jahwar, the founder and chief visionary officer for Vision Regeneration (VR), can easily move people with a breath or two. His work within the South Dallas community is just as inspirational and assertive as his words. It would have to be, for Omar’s vision of a gang-free Dallas to be realized. The design problem for the 2010 HKS Design Fellowship asked the participating fellows to work as a team and develop a vision for a community service center fit to be the physical embodiment for VR’s mission. Their new Vision Center, to be located on a property currently occupied by VR in South Dallas, will serve atrisk children through their Institute, Intrusion and Invasion programs designed to infiltrate the existing “toxic culture” and provide the opportunity to achieve life.
“Once a kid goes from SpongeBob to MTV, no one wants to deal with them anymore, but we do.” – OMAR JAHWAR, FOUNDER OF VISION REGENERATION
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GANG ACTIVITY BACKGROUND
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uring the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dallas struggled with gang violence and crime. Through a city-wide crackdown and a police task force dedicated to curbing and stopping gang activity, as well as through the involvement of people like Omar, Dallas was able to dramatically reduce the presence of gangs in the city. By 2000, Dallas appeared to have conquered its gang troubles. The 60-member anti-gang strike force that the Dallas Police Department had established in 1993 had slowly been downsized over the years, due to a decrease in gang activity. However, in 2009,
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four officers were added to the strike force, bringing the total number of members to 26. An 83 percent increase in gang-related arrests in 2009 is being attributed to the release of incarcerated gang members who were arrested years ago during Dallas’s crackdown. These released gang members are back on the streets and are recruiting new members who are sometimes as young as elementary school children. The highest occurrence of gang-related violence takes place in South Dallas’s Council District 4, where Vision Regeneration is headquartered and most active.
VISION REGENERATION BACKGROUND
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ision Regeneration’s purpose is to engage at-risk kids and transform their core values, attitudes and morals to influence their future. Their methodology, like Omar Jahwar’s rhetoric, is intrusive, to the point, and ever-present in the kid’s lives. Through their Violence Free Zones, school-based and community programs, VR’s ex-offender staff become a positive influence on kids that may be at risk. By immersing them in a positive environment, VR allows kids to be kids without having to be defensive at all times.
for new innovative programs. Urban Specialists will be charged to interrupt the daily choices and create a positive environment for the kids. Invasion uses technology and art as the genesis for a creative outlet for at-risk kids as well as a place for kids to access opportunities otherwise unavailable. Visit the Vision Regeneration website at: WWW.VRINC.ORG
Through the Vision World Center, Vision Regeneration hopes to expand their reach and commitment to the Dallas community. The Welcome Center will create an accessible environment with training rooms. The institute is envisioned as a state-of-the-art information center that provides training and advocacy. By engaging stakeholders such as universities and elected officials, the Institute will provide a forum for exchanging information. Through the Intrusion program, VR will be the incubator
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SOLUTION
A
TEAM MEMBERS
Julia Hager ATLANTA: HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE
Zack Lamp DALLAS: COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
Enoch Suhm DALLAS: COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
Zach Weihrich UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS: INTERIOR DESIGN
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ision Regeneration’s mission is to save a community from the sorrows of poverty, crime and negative influences. Their mission quickly became our mission. With fresh eyes, a different perspective and tools from all backgrounds, we were ready for this challenge. Hearing the stories and personal accounts of everyone who worked at Vision Regeneration connected us to the project on a deep, emotional level. What we were trying to accomplish was more than designing a structure. We wanted to use our craft and knowledge to positively influence an entire community. Through the use of industrial materials, modest architecture and a flexible, open design we are creating a blank canvas for Vision Regeneration’s mission; the look and feel of the space will be informed by the activities that take place on its campus. We can provide a living, breathing space for Vision Regeneration to reach out to kids, show them how to get their lives back on track, allow them dream, and give them a voice and a stage to influence the community with creative personal expression. We look at Vision Regeneration’s mission as a living force that molds itself and changes to fit every person that walks in its doors; it fuels the structure and organization of their facilities. Our goal was to provide a space that can allow Vision Regeneration this flexibility. Hearing the employees’ stories showed us they
needed so much more than a building. They need a platform, a theatre where the community can come to them, be healed and be reflected back out to show others. We are proposing two new structures. The first, and smaller, is a community resource center built right next to Faith Memorial Church. This building will contain a library, a clinic and cafeteria. Across the street will be Vision Regeneration’s new headquarters. The ground floor houses the Invasion area, with all of its creative spaces, multimedia outlets and dance studio. This opens up to the second floor, which is much more structured in plan to organize the Intrusion department. This is a quieter, semi-private area for multi-purpose meeting spaces that can accommodate whoever is trying to assemble, as well as a breakout space and an incubator – all with views out to the central courtyard. The third floor is the most private space and reserved for the Institution, where employees have their own offices as well as common areas to share their research and cases. With the extra square footage on the third floor, we have found room for a large rooftop garden that looks down on the entire complex, and out toward the Dallas skyline. This is a place for reflection and restoration. Some of the programs and issues faced by the Intrusion department are intense, and a private space to allow some room to breathe and heal is essential.
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The program requirements were not addressing the need for sports facilities within the community. Thus, we added a basketball court and a workout facility, which will be located in the basement of the Lighthouse Church. The basketball court will be directly connected to the workout facility via an underground tunnel and will provide ample seating for spectators.
Even though our site only spans a block, we are hoping that the redevelopment of the area will not stop here. Thus, we have created several pathways radiating outward into the community. This campus becomes not an enclosed space but rather the beginning to a revitalized South Dallas. WRITTEN BY:
Building on both sides of the street presents a challenge on keeping the campus unified. For this reason, we are proposing to raise the street to the same level as the sidewalk as well as setting the buildings back from the street. These alterations create a courtyard between all of our structures, and neutral, safe place for kids to play. Although traffic will still be allowed to traverse the site, it will be slowed down. Drivers will be aware of a changed streetscape by the change in elevation and materials under their tires. A series of bollards keeps boundaries clear, and the overall effect shows everyone involved that this place is entirely unique. The shapes of the buildings hug the site, and create a sense of safety and privacy. Incorporating principles of defensible space we have eliminated dark corners where trouble may hide, and provided a sense of transparency so that every visitor in effect secures the place with their presence.
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TEAM A
Zach Weihrich & Enoch Suhm
Building on both sides of the street presents a challenge on keeping the campus unified.
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TEAM A
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TEAM A
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TEAM A
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TEAM A
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SOLUTION
B
TEAM MEMBERS
Jeff Kabat DALLAS: HEALTHCARE INTERIORS
David Taylor DETROIT: HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE
Navid Vijeh Tehrani UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON: ARCHITECTURE
Dulce Torres DALLAS: HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE
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O
ur design set out to create an intrusive, community-transforming campus – one that embodies the intrusive, life-transforming service provided by Vision Regeneration. Our design approach was intrusive and attentiondemanding from the onset, proposing that the new facility stretch its arms across the entire site, including the existing parking lot, thereby redirecting a city block of Ewing Avenue. We were inspired to create a campus that serves as a seed that will grow its roots into the community and promote urban development to connect the city. Part of our exercise in designing this campus was to study its potential impact in the immediate neighborhood, then its impact in the surrounding neighborhoods, and eventually its impact on the entire city of Dallas. To accomplish this, we studied local means of transportation, including bus routes, major roads and the light rail. We also mapped out what we termed ‘positive nodes’ of establishment – this included schools, hospitals, clinics, police stations, fire stations, public amenities, shopping areas, libraries, etc. We then compared the volume of positive nodes in the area, to reported crime. The results of our study were alarmingly telling – this neighborhood is in dire need of a viral positive node. By relocating a portion of Ewing Ave – between Georgia Ave and E. Louisiana Ave – to the west limit of the property, the environment capitalizes on exposure to the community,
both to auto and pedestrian traffic. Exposure to the community was a major design goal. We want the community to see the services and activities being offered by Vision Regeneration. More than that, we want to stir the neighborhood’s curiosity and create an inviting, transparent and engaging campus that invites the neighbors in without speaking a word. Relocating a portion of Ewing Avenue also enhances the security of the environment by re-routing the through-traffic that once severed the space. The re-routed traffic helps unify the space and create more pedestrianfriendly outdoor areas for gathering, performing, walking or playing sports. The environment will engage the community, not only through the programs offered inside its walls, but by creating outdoor areas that encourage public use and a sense of community among the neighbors. An existing vegetable garden sits on the southwest corner of the site. The garden is maintained by Vision Regeneration to encourage neighbors in the community to come and pick vegetables to use for meal preparation. This garden is part of what Vision Regeneration is all about, so we felt that it was crucial to preserve it. The new building was also designed to stand back from and pay homage to the existing chapel. The chapel holds weekly services and meetings. It also hosts a variety of programs in its ancillary spaces. Making the new building stand back
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from the existing chapel creates a powerful negative space that allows for a transitional outdoor area for neighbors to gather and enjoy. Along this promenade, several outdoor areas were designated to encourage community use. A secured sports area on top of the parking structure allows neighbors to gather for a game of basketball. An outdoor amphitheater creates numerous places to sit and visit, or to gather for an outdoor music, dance or theatre performance. While the life-transforming programs offered by Vision Regeneration are a wonderful outreach service to at-risk individuals in the community, the programs can’t reach everyone. With that in mind, the campus was designed with these outdoor areas to create an extension of service to the community – to reach everyone. The building’s exterior design takes on a graffiti-inspired skin. It is a bold, intrusive aesthetic that embodies a bold, intrusive service/ministry provided by Vision Regeneration. Bands wrap the skin of the building, mimicking graffiti, and at the point that the bands break free from the building, they provide shade for the roof garden and create billboards to display artwork, giving a sense of ownership to those who participate in the programs offered by Vision Regeneration. The negative space on the exterior skin (the areas left over from the bands) is all vision glass – allowing for transparency.
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TEAM B
The architectural gesture of the building form on the site accomplishes many things. First, the driving concept for our project was to relocate a portion of Ewing Ave to the west limit of the property. This capitalizes on exposure to the community, both to auto and pedestrian traffic, while enhancing the security of the environment by re-routing the through-traffic that once severed the space. The placement of glass allowing visibility into the building at certain areas was also carefully articulated to accomplish this goal. Second, the breezeway location was placed to promote pedestrian traffic through the campus and connect the vegetable garden with the existing chapel…this is an architectural move to honor and keep sacred the existing church and garden. Third, the building was positioned to allow the parking structure to be located adjacent to the chapel, since services held there will likely create the greatest need for highvolume parking. Finally, the building’s form gestures out into the community with arms that appear to be reaching outward, hence intrusive outreach – the founding principle behind the services offered at Vision Regeneration. WRITTEN BY:
Jeff Kabat
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TEAM B
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SOLUTION
C
TEAM MEMBERS
Dan Getz DALLAS: STRUCTURES
Lauren Mcgowan DALLAS: INTERIOR DESIGN Chad Porter D.C.: ARCHITECTURE
Vince Tam UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON: ARCHITECTURE
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ur team began by getting to know the Vision Regeneration staff and the people they serve. We found that the site was not only central to the geography of the community, but also to its vitality. In an area where few public resources exist, the VR center offers support for a neighborhood in need. It is a nucleus that fosters connections between people, groups, communities and nations. Our first step was to study the neighborhood and others like it. We came across a quote by Lao Tzu:
“Go to the people Live among them Learn from them Love them Start with what they know Build on what they have; But of the best leaders, when their task is done The people will remark We have done it ourselves.” This quote struck us for its relevance to Vision Regeneration. The challenge of designing this community center became focused on empowering a hurting neighborhood. People in this community need to relate to one another and build a strong bond so that they’re able to rise above the challenges surrounding them. With this in mind, our design concept evolved into fostering connections. We had to bridge the gap between the programmed spaces of
the building, the two sides of the site, the site and the community, and the community and the city so that this center could reach its full potential. After developing our concept, we began to design the site. We knew we wanted to celebrate the existing church with its beautiful cylindrical form, take advantage of views toward the Dallas skyline, and maintain connections between the site and surrounding points of interest. Concentrating on the idea that the church was a nucleus of the site, we sketched out a spiral that began at the church and ended at the north end of the site. That spiral would eventually be our building. The form began at street level and ramped upward as it approached the north, bridging over the street that bisects the site. By doing this, the Welcome Center became easily accessible from the street by people seeking food and medical attention. (This is the “love them” portion of the quote. Meet their basic needs and show them love.) We designed street parking along the perimeter of the east side of the site and created a sub-grade parking garage under the west portion of the building, where most of the longer-term visitors would be. Our final site design was dynamic and radiated out from the church, keeping parking accessible but also subordinate to the form of our building. Our next step was to assign programmed
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space to the spiral building. Already having set the Welcome Center on street level on the east side of the site, we went about placing the remaining spaces by imagining ourselves traveling through the spiral form, connecting each space to the next as we progress toward the north end of the site which faces the Dallas skyline. We paralleled the path through the building to the path the VR teens would take from struggle to success. It was all about progression. From the Welcome Center, you’re prompted by the architecture to walk through a ramped bridge which we designated as The Institute (the “learn from them” portion of the quote). Acquiring knowledge is the first step toward reaching goals, and we felt that placing the library in this bridge was perfectly symbolic of that. From there, you move up and around to the Intrusion area. (The “live among them” portion of the quote.) Here, mentors and VR staff become deeply involved in the lives of the teens whom they counsel. This space sits on top of the sub-grade parking garage and has access to a rooftop terrace which sits on the southwest corner of the site. The final step in the journey is up toward the Invasion area (the “go to the people” portion of the quote), which has unobstructed views toward downtown Dallas. In this space, teens who have proven themselves to the VR staff are rewarded with access to a state-of-the-art studio for music, dance, writing, art, gaming and entertainment. The cantilevered studio over-
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TEAM C
looks an outdoor amphitheater which is carved out of the site below and has underground access to the existing church through a tunnel beneath the street. This space is the pinnacle of the journey these teens take through this space, and through life. The final product of our design is a dynamic environment that celebrates the activities within it and the community surrounding it. It is the nucleus of the neighborhood, fostering connections between people, groups, communities and nations. WRITTEN BY:
Lauren Mcgowan
This space is the pinnacle of the journey these teens take through the building, and through life.
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TEAM C
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TEAM C
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THE FUTURE The fellows presented their designs to key stakeholders of the Vision Regeneration organization, including their staff, the founder and CEO, the Board of Directors and valued members of the Oak Cliff community. Over 100 people came to hear the fellows’ vision of the future campus for the Vision World Center. Vision Regeneration plans to use all three designs in their Capital Campaign as they raise funds for their future facility. As of this writing, VR had not chosen a single design, focusing instead on the incredible opportunities and vision each of the designs inspires. HKS shares VR’s vision for the youth of the Oak Cliff community and supports their commitment to create a safe environment for our youth to learn, play and grow. HKS looks forward to working with Vision Regeneration to make their dream, their hope for the future, their VISION, a reality. The intensity and product of the 2010 HKS Design Fellowship as well as the preparation
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work by the Design Fellowship facilitators was validated by Omar Jahwar when he described the process as being “by far the most exciting experience for Vision this year. Their team of professional designers and engineers gave us the opportunity to experience the World Center visually and virtually.” It was indeed a worthwhile design charrette for Vision Regeneration and for all of the HKS participants. Omar left us with a challenge and a word of encouragement when he asked HKS to “...continue to dream big and expand our visual horizons, maybe the rest of the world will catch up…”
A very special thank you to all of our jurors Omar Jahwar Vision Regeneration Founder & CEO
Robert G. Wright Vision Regeneration Board Chairman
Tennell Atkins District 8 Dallas City Councilman
Libbie Terrell Lee, MS Owner & President, LTL International
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THE FIRM BEHIND THE FELLOWSHIP At HKS... we listen, innovate and deliver. Our philosophy is to design buildings of distinction that reflect the unique characteristics of both the location and the people who use them. HKS architects deliver imaginative, remarkable environments for work, play and life. For more than 70 years, we have nurtured a culture that reveres both invention and client focus. Today, we are among the top architectural firms practicing worldwide, recognized for our award-winning architectural, interior design and planning services. Our vision is to be a global leader in professional design services – bringing value to clients through innovation while being committed to excellence, sustainability and sound business principles.