Harrison Haas has joined the Community Design Collaborative staff as our new Philly Fellow. Philly Fellows is a year-long post-graduate fellowship program which offers top graduates of Philadelphia-area colleges and universities opportunities to engage in the city’s vibrant neighborhoods and diverse non-profit agencies.

Harrison hails from Ojai, CA about twenty miles south of Santa Barbara. He came to Philly Fellows by way of Haverford College, where he majored in History with a minor in East Asian Studies.

Harrison will serve as the Collaborative’s Communications Associate. You’ll be seeing his byline on many of our blog posts over the coming year and we expect him to put his stamp on our electronic and print communications too.

Harrison has already done plenty of communicating and troubleshooting as Co-President of the Students’ Council and as Lead Help Desk Assistant while at Haverford College. He also manned the phones as an intern with the Office of Representative Allyson Schwartz during the development of the new health care bill. We’ve already come to rely on his unflappable approach to solving problems!

As an LGBT advocate, Harrison served as Co-Head of Sexuality and Gender Alliance, Haverford College’s largest affinity group. He has also volunteered with Equal Advocates Pennsylvania, researching LGBT legislation in other states around the issue of bullying and working with the University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center to bring Safe-Zone Training to the campus.

Have you recently seen a storefront turn from eyesore to eye-catching? The Community Design Collaborative and the City of Philadelphia Commerce Department are looking for your nominations to the Citywide Storefront Challenge. The Challenge is a competition to identify those businesses that have recently (January 2008 – September 2010) redesigned their storefronts and now exemplify the principle that: “Good Design is Good Business.” The Awards range from “Most Unique Sign” to the “Nightlife Award” (the improvements that bring a building ‘to life’ at night). You can even suggest your own category.

If you admire a business that has demonstrated care and uniqueness in how it presents itself to its customers and the public, then this could be your opportunity to increase exposure for that business, a design or construction firm, or your own business. The nominated projects will be reviewed by a jury composed of economic development and design professionals. The winning projects will then be on display as part of DesignPhiladelphia, the citywide event that showcases the role design has played in Philadelphia. Submissions are being accepted through September 15, 2010. To get a copy of the application form, click here.

Although it may be too late to redesign a storefront in time for the contest, the Philadelphia Department of Commerce’s Storefront Improvement Program will still reimburse you for up to 50% of the cost of beautifying an eligible storefront. The City wants to encourage storefront improvements to make Philadelphia better for business owners, residents, shoppers and visitors.

For more information about the SIP program or the Storefront Challenge, contact Karen Fegely at 214-683-2025 or .

Logo design by Anna Ishii

In 2011, the Community Design Collaborative will turn 20! And we’ll have something to celebrate: the nearly 600 projects completed on behalf of local nonprofits and 100,000 volunteer hours contributed by our volunteers. As part of getting ready to celebrate, we asked you to send us your ideas for a special 20th anniversary logo.

We were thrilled to receive sixteen entries. They were all so good that we had trouble picking a winner. So we chose two!

Logo Design by Jennifer Martel

Congratulations to graphic designer Anna Ishii and landscape architect Jennifer Martell. Both Anna and Jennifer will receive $100 in Reading Terminal Market Money for use at any merchant store in the Market.

Both of the winning designs had a special focus on people, very apropos given the amazing volunteers and clients at the heart of the Collaborative’s work. These logos will pop up over the coming year in all kinds of places.

Thanks to all the creative people who submitted designs. We’re pleased to share all the entries. Stay tuned to our blog for more news on the Collaborative’s 20th anniversary celebration in 2011!

The lighter side of being a Philly Fellow: Erik Kojola at the Collaborative's Bowling Ball

Last month, the Community Design Collaborative bid farewell to Erik Kojola and Haley Loram. Both Erik and Haley came to the Collaborative courtesy of Philly Fellows, a year-long post-graduate fellowship program which offers top graduates of Philadelphia-area colleges and universities opportunities to engage in the city’s vibrant neighborhoods and diverse nonprofit agencies.

During his last week with the Collaborative, I sat down with Erik to reflect on his time with the Collaborative.
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PECO presented $10,000 to The Enterprise Center CDC to support the development of the Walnut Hill Community Farm. The grant was awarded yesterday through PECO’s Green Region Open Space Program. Green Region grants, administered by PECO in partnership with the Natural Lands Trust, help municipalities in Southeastern Pennsylvania plan for, protect, and improve open land.

The Community Design Collaborative is working with The Enterprise Center CDC to create a conceptual master plan for the farm, a quarter-acre lot in the shadow of the Market Street El. Read Full Story

Here's looking at you! Haley Loram on the white roof of ECA's Training Center

Last week, the Community Design Collaborative bid farewell to Haley Loram and Erik Kojola. Both Haley and Erik came to the Collaborative through Philly Fellows, a year-long post-graduate fellowship program which offers top graduates of Philadelphia-area colleges and universities opportunities to engage in the city’s vibrant neighborhoods and diverse nonprofit agencies.

Over the past two years, I’ve watched Haley and Erik sail into work on their bicycles in all kinds of weather, eat bottomless bowls of veggies for lunch, take advantage of all that Philly has to offer, and grow professionally.

Last week, I sat down with Haley to reflect on her time with the Collaborative, city living, and first jobs. Read Full Story

Rendering of the conceptual design for new driveway and expanded facilities.

Libertae, Inc. wants to enhance the services it offers to mothers who are recovering from substance abuse and mental health issues, but the Bucks County-based organization needs to expand its facilities to make room for new programs and more clients.

A multi-disciplinary Community Design Collaborative volunteer team worked with Libertae, a nonprofit that seeks to empower women and their families to maintain sobriety though comprehensive treatment, to develop a conceptual design for expanding and updating their Learning Center in Bensalem to keep up with the growing organization.  Libertae’s site on Bensalem Boulevard consists of two buildings that house women and their children in different stages of rehabilitation, the Halfway House and the Family House. Libertae wanted to transform a conference room in the Family House into a multi-purpose space as well as increase parking on the property and reduce energy consumption.

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