Community Practice
Sarah Jane Visnick Spring ‘21
Contents INTRODUCTION & INTENTION COMMUNITY PORTRAIT WORST CASE SCENARIO DESIGN FIRM PRECEDENTS BUILDING YOUR C O L L A B O R AT I V E PRACTICE THE URBAN CHALLENGE
Introduction
SARAH JANE VISNICK W E L L A P, L E E D G R E E N A S S O C I AT E
I am an architectural designer who carries the notion that the built environment is capable of positiely impacting day to day life. With the end user always in mind, research, collaboration and empathy should always lead the design process. I look forward to indulging in the spirit of community practice.
Beverly, MA 01915 sarahjanevisnick@gmail.com 978-578-9290 LinkedIn Inclusion & Environment Creative Cloud, Revit, CAD, Enscape, Archicad, SketchUp, Rhino
E D U C AT I O N 2023
Master’s of Architecture
Bo st o n A rc h i t e c tura l College A n t i c i p at e d 2 0 2 3
2020
Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Interior Design En d i c o tt C ol le ge , Cla s s of 20 20 Ho n o r s S c h ol a r 3.8
EXPERIENCE 2021
Visnick & Caulfield 222 Berkeley St, Floor 2, Boston MA Designer | January ‘20 - Present Corporate Design with a Focus in Law Firms
• • • • • •
2019
C ol l a b o r at e wi th ONE Des i gn fi rms to exec ute con struction docume n tation an d ob se rvation Man age sc h e d uli ng & i ntera c ti ons w i th ma teri al ve n dors D eve lo p d r aw i ng s ets & obs erve the c ons truc ti on proce ss C re a t e re n d e ri ngs & des i gn pres enta ti ons Pa r t i c i p a t e i n work pla c e s tra tegy a s s es s ments & change man age me n t Mai n t ai n c o m pa ny blog a nd web pres enc e
Olson Lewis Architects 17 Elm St, Manchester by the Sea, MA Intern | August ‘19 - December ‘19 Lab & Biosciences
• • • •
C o n t r i b u t e d t o a des i gn tea m whi c h s pec i a li z ed in lab facilitie s Fac i l i t a t e d c o ns truc ti on doc umenta ti on a nd mate rial spe cification D eve lo p e d m a rketi ng ma teri a ls th rough Photos hop an d In D e sign A tt e n d e d c l i e n t meeti ngs , c ons truc ti on obs ervation
Intention
COMMUNITY PRACTICE S K I L L S & VA L U E S
working
community practice
Community practice is about developing a non-traditional workflow. How can a designer pause their creative brain to listen to the wants and needs of a community? How do designers learn to work with one another? These are the questions we aim to resolve here. At the end, we will be better designers, better listeners, and better teammates. engaging transforming
listening
working together creating relationships
challenging status quo
making a difference
C O L L A B O R AT I O N
C O M M U N I C AT I O N
“the action of working with someone to create or achieve something”
“the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings”
C R E AT I V I T Y
COMMUNITY
“the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work”
to engage with the design process from a place of listening and understanding (not projecting)
VISUAL / GRAPHIC R E P R E S E N TAT I O N
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
“the use of [diagrams] to visually display, clarify and interpret information”
“for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement”
Community Portrait
The intent of this project was to create a community portrait for our class. The class decided to break the portrait down into individual stills, which would be designed for one another. I created an individual portrait for Brandon by collaging his original photography which illustrated his stories of travel, family, and religion.
P R O C E S S
Photography by Brandon Hervia Media & Methods : Collage by Photoshop T i m e l i n e : O n e We e k
P R O D U C T
Worst Case Scenario
Teams of 5 were given a “worst case scenario” and thus tasked with practicing conflict resolution to come to an agreeable decision. Our team was positioned as a planning board, & asked whether or not we would let a large corporation come into our town, displacing affordable housing, but potentially drawing i n c o m e t o t h e c i t y. We a r r a n g e d o u r v a l u e s a n d sorted our thoughts as follows.
The need for public housing was a non negotiable that we began our journey with as a collective planning board. But we also recognised the positive impact of potential new businesses coming in and so we established a core set of values that we used to base our decisions on. Arguments for both sides were made on how they addressed each of these core values.
New construction is disruptive to the environment and local wildlife
There is already an existing culture within this occupiable space Housing is a basic human n e e d , r e g a r d l e s s o f income Public housing is already at risk - new income for c i t y m a y b e p r o m i s i n g
HOUSING MUST S TAY
A new build will bring in a new community, with a new culture
Jobs within the local realm lower carbon emissions by reducing commutes
A new build will bring revenue into the city which may fund benefits for other organizations
BUSINESS MUST COME
Public housing brings in little to no revenue Bringing in a new community may support gentrification New business will bring new jobs, and may offer employment to the currently unemployed Housing costs within the city may rise as a result of gentrification making living less affordable
New business will bring in revenue
New business may bring it’s own skilled workers, displacing local workers Networking and community may bring new opportunities
Revenue from the new business may support the already struggling public housing budget
Wo r k b y : K y l e M u l l a n e y, A l e x a n d e r H e l l m a n n , S a m u e l Wa i t e , I m r a n M . K h a n , S a r a h J a n e V i s n i c k Media & Methods : Illustrator T i m e l i n e : O n e We e k
Each one of our core values was impacted by either side of the worst c a s e s c e n a r i o . We d i d a c o s t / v a l u e analysis and ranked each value accordingly, to produce an analytical view of the team’s values. Based on this analytical assessment, we concluded that we are open to new businesses so long as they meet certain requirements which contribute to the community (including but not limited to re-building public housing). If the conditions are not met, the business will not be welcomed.
Design Firm Precedents
Our group of 5 broke out into 3 teams to investigate different community based design f i r m s a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y. We w e r e a s k e d t o assess their impact area, and make precedent analysis on some of their projects. Alexander and I analyzed LA Mas and distributed the research, then put together the presentation together, using a layout that Sam had created beforehand.
LA MAS
LA MÁS DESIGNS AND BUILDS INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE NEIGHBORHOOD RESILIENCE AND ELEVATE THE AGENCY OF WORKING CLASS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. THEY ENVISION A NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES WHERE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE POWER AND RESOURCES NEEDED TO SHAPE THEIR FUTURES.
PROJECT TYPES COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY ENG AG EMENT
SMALL BUSINESS
ACTIONABLE I M PA C T M A P PROJECTS COMPLETED IN 2018
PUBLIC REALM
A L T. HOUSING
INCLUSIVE
ONGOING PROJECTS PAST PROJECTS
LA MAS TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS TWO + OTHER
EST. AS A UR BAN DESI GN NON-PR O F I T OR GANI ZAT ION
S TRE E T I M P RO VE M E N T P RO J E CTS
C RE ATE D TH E FIR S T S T R AT E G IC P L AN , RE F O C U S ING O N P O L ICY & ARCH I TE CT U R E . FO C U S O N AF F O RD AB LE HO U S ING A ND S MA L L BUSINESS SUPPORT
2012
2015
2016
ASIAN NATIVE AM. BLACK
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
2013 C O -E X E CUTI VE D I RE C TO R TO B RI N G E X P E RI E N C E I N P U B LI C P O LI CY & C O M M U N I TY E N G AG E M E N T
CALIFORNIA, USA
IMAGE BELONGS TO LA MAS
IMAGE BELONGS TO LA MAS
IMAGE BELONGS TO NOUS ENGINEERING
THE BACKYARD HOMES PROJECT IS AN INITIATIVE LAUNCHED IN 2019 AFTER THREE YEARS OF STUDY AS A MEANS TO ADDRESS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS. WITH THE GROWTH OF THEIR FOUNDATION SUPPORT, THEY WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP THIS IN-HOUSE INITIATIVE. THE PROGRAM ENABLES THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER TO CONTRIBUTE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. LA MAS HELPS HOMEOWNERS FINANCE, DESIGN, PERMIT, AND CONSTRUCT AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (ADU) WHICH THEY WILL THEN RENT TO A SECTION 8 TENANT.
STUDY
C O VI D -1 9 RE S P O N S E
FIN A N C I A L F L IP : MA JORITY R EV EN U E C A ME F ROM FOUN D AT I O N S, GOV ERNMEN T, AN D P R I VAT E DON ATION S
CIT Y OF LOS ANG E LE S ADU PILOT PR O J E C T
220 017 17
2018
AWAR D ED H U D SECTION 4 CA PACI T Y BUI LDING G RA N T F O R C OMMUNITY DEV ELOPMENT AND AF FOR D A BL E H OUSING. A L LOWED FOR KI CKOFF OF B A C K YA R D H OME RESEA RCH PR OJECT
CASE
S TO P P E D ACCE P TI N G A P P L IC A NT S T O T HE B AC K YARD H O M E S P RO JE C T A ND C HO S E 5 H OM E O WN E RS TO S TA R T C O NS T R U C T IO N
2019 B AC K YARD H O M E S I N I TI ATI VE P ROJ E C T L AUN C H
2020
Building your Practice
In our groups of five, we were asked to design our ideal design firm. With a focus on public interest design, we pursued a nont r a d i t i o n a l b u s i n e s s m o d e l . We e x p l o r e d i d e a s of partnership, work-flow, and urban scale as we negotiated one another’s wants and needs. My primary role in this project was organizing the team and creating content to communicate our ideas visually.
Wo r k b y : K y l e M u l l a n e y, A l e x a n d e r H e l l m a n n , S a m u e l Wa i t e , I m r a n M . K h a n , S a r a h J a n e V i s n i c k Photography by Ian Howard Media & Methods : Illustrator, InDesign T i m e l i n e : T w o We e k s
POBA I L (n o un ) co mmun ity ; the pe o pl e of a distr ict o r co un try co n side r e d co l l e ctiv e ly, e spe cial ly in th e co n te xt o f so cial val ue s an d r e spo n sib il itie s
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH BASED DESIGN
COMMUNITY EN GAGEMENT
URBAN RESILIENCY
MASTER PLANNING
PROBONO WORK
PROJECT CONSULTING
COMMUNITY
URBAN INTERVENTIONS
ADVOCACY COLLABORATIVE
INFRASTRUCTURE
ARCHITECTURAL
POLICY ENGAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
SERVICES
& DESIGN
wh o we are
THE MODERN C I TY DEMANDS E Q UAL I TY AND OPPORTUN I TY. AT POBA I L W E USE OUR EXPER I ENCES TO CREATE A FRAME WOR K FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT, SO THAT EACH NE W PROJ ECT CAN BEST SERVE I TS COMMUN I TY. A COLLECT I VE OF ARCH I TECTS W I TH A PRACT I CE FOCUSED ON I NTE G R I TY, CREAT I V I TY, AND COLLABORAT I ON . W E PARTNER W I TH LOCAL DES I G N I N I T I AT I VES TO I NT I MATELY UNDERSTAND A COMMUN I TY ’ S NEEDS AND BU I LD I NCLUS I VE SPACES .
ALEXANDER HELLMANN
SARAH JANE VISNICK
IMRAN KHAN
SAMUEL WAITE
KYLE MULLANEY
RESEARCH PRINCIPAL
MANAGING PRINCIPAL
DESIGN PRINCIPAL
DESIGN PRINCIPAL
DESIGN PRINCIPAL
AIA
AIA, WELL AP
AIA, NCARB
AIA, LEED AP
AIA
CREATIVITY VS
USER
INTERDISCIPLINARY
URBAN
PROJECT
FUNCTIONALITY
EXPERIENCE
COLLABORATION
DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT ENIVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
bu siness model & causal loop
Graphic Drawn by Imran. M. Khan
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP
POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP
G r a p h i c D r aw n by S a m u e l Wa i t e
Often when community development is underta ken, a host of complicated factors converge. If these influences are not manageD, the local development process can lose a human-centric motivation, and begin a cycle that cascades negatively. With care and INTENTION, community development can be sheparded toward GROWTH WHICH uplifts and engages the community. AS A RESULT, WE focus on workinG WITH communities that FIND THEMSELVES AT A DEVELOPMENTAL TURNING POINT.
ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT
designer
research social media lead
m a n ag i n g
research
p r i n c i pa l
p r i n c i pa l
lead
community liaison
pr oj ec t arch i t ec t
design design
p r i n c i pa l
p r i n c i pa l
p r oj e c t architect
designer designer community
design
liaison
p r i n c i pa l
designer community liaison
p r oj e c t architect
designer designer
designer
Graphic Drawn by Alexander Hellmann
T h e P o b a i l f i r m c o n t r ac t l o o k s t o s e t t h e s ta n da r d s i n w h i c h e m p l oy e e s w i l l c o n d u c t b u s i n e s s w i t h e x t e r n a l a n d i n t e r n a l pa r t i e s . I t i s a s e t o f g u i d e l i n e s t h at e s ta b l i s h e s t h e f r a m e w o r k i n w h i c h w e m u s t h o l d o u r s e lv e s ac c o u n ta b l e f o r t h e wo r k w e p r o d u c e , a n d t h e way t h at w e t r e at o n e a n ot h e r . A m o n g ot h e r t h i n g s , t h e s e co r e p r i n c i p l e s fo c u s o n : • R e s p e c t o f va ry i n g o p i n i o n • Eq ua l o p p o r t u n i t y • E n c o u r ag e m e n t o f g r ow t h • I n d i v i d ua l ac c o u n ta b i l i t y • A t e a m f i r s t at t i t u d e • A lway s p r ov i d i n g yo u r b e s t e f f o r t T h e s e c o r e va l u e s a r e e x pa n d e d u p o n i n t h e l a r g e r t e a m c o n t r ac t w h i c h w e e x p e c t a l l f i r m m e m b e r s t o s i g n d u r i n g t h e i r o n b oa r d i n g. P l e a s e f e e l f r e e t o r e v i e w a s w e h av e p u b l i s h e d t h i s i n f o r m at i o n t o b e ac c e s s i b l e by a l l o f t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n l e a r n i n g m o r e a b o u t P o b a i l .
e x ampl e project
T h e URBAN FARM w h e r e b e t t e r c i t y m e e t s n at u r a l l i f e ” , h a s b e e n t h e co r e i d e a throughout the design. A green urban va l l e y c o m p l e x w i t h a ‘ s t r e e t l a n d s c a p e pa r k ’ a s a h i g h l i g h t i n t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l s pa c e , i s s i t t i n g r i g h t a b o v e o n e o f t h e m o s t u s e d m e t r o s tat i o n s i n S h a n g h a i .
INTERDESIGN ASSOCIATES
PARTNERS : MINDSCAPE LANDSCAPE DESIGN, Studio Taku Shimizu Inc,
LOCAL ARCHITECT : NIKKEN SEKKEI
YEAR OF COMPLETION : 2017
LOCATION : NEW YORK
The Urban Challenge
The design firm that we created in the last assignment was tasked with engaging the community to create a piece of built environment that would positively impact their d a y t o d a y l i v e s . We c h o s e t h e l e n s o f p u b l i c health and engaged with the people of Roxbury Crossing to determine their wants and needs. Ultimately, we proposed a skatepark.
After our class was geared towards the Southwest Corridor, our group took an interest in Roxbury Crossing.
After some initial site analysis, we narrowed our lens down to public health and youth wellbeing.
This is a public health anaylsis map which highlights green spaces, rec centers and playgrounds in the area.
G r a p h i c D r a w n by S a m u e l Wa i t e
We t h e n d i d a n a n a l y s i s o n S t a k e h o l d e r s t h r o u g h t h i s l e n s , a n d m a d e an action plan on how to engage with the community.
O R I G I N A L S I T E A N A LY S I S REVEALED A PLAY DESERT - WE WONDERED WHAT WE COULD GIVE THE YOUTH COMMUNITY OF ROXBURY CROSSING
THE COMMUNITY TOLD UN-ENTERTAINED KIDS END UP IN TROUBLE. BI A RELEVANT ESCAPE FOR CAN BE FEW AND FAR BET WONDERED HOW TO IN ACCESSIBILITY & SA
SO SAM WENT AND ASKED
BICYC L E S H ARE P L AY S C A P E
PU
BL
IC
HE
A
H LT
AN AL YSI
S
WE ENGAGED WITH BIKES NOT BOMBS AS A COMMUNITY PA RT N E R
THE SECOND ENGAGEMENT SESSION FOCUSED US MORE ON S K AT E PA R KS T H A N O N A B I K E S H A R E . W I T H I N T H E S K AT E PA R K I D E A , T H E G OA L B E C A M E C R E AT I N G SA F E S PAC E F O R YOUNGER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, S P E C I F I C A L LY S P A C E A W A Y F R O M DRUGS & GANGS
US THAT S OFTEN IKES ARE R KIDS, BUT TWEEN. WE NCREASE AFETY
COM
MU
NI
TY
SO KYLE AND SAM ASKED WHAT THAT M I G H T LO O K LIKE
SK
E TC
HES PROP
ED
L O
SK ATE PA R K
OS
CA
TIO N
IMPORTANT ITEMS INCLUDED BRIGHT / PLENTIFUL LIGHTING, CLEAR DESIGNATION OF A CHILDREN’S AREA (A MURAL PERHAPS), RAILS, HALF-PIPE, RAMPS, VERTICAL JUMPS, AND A PUMP TRACK
IN CONJ U NC TION W ITH T HE COMMU NITY OF ROXBU RY C ROSSI N G, POBAIL IS PROPOSING A SKATE PA R K .
Thank You