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.
Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, North 5th Street in El Centro de Oro, Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, and Lancaster Avenue in Mantua/Powelton Village have gotten facelifts through the city’s Restore Targeted Blocks Facade Program. Corridor Managers on the staffs of Mt. Airy USA, HACE, People’s Emergency Center CDC, Roxborough Development Corporation and Korean Community Development Services. implemented the program, which provided funding for the design and construction of 15 to 20 façade improvement projects ranging from new signage to lighting to window replacement.
Volunteer architects with the Community Design Collaborative provided some of the initial design concepts for two of the participating corridors through the Collaborative’s rStore program. In 2007 Collaborative volunteers provided design consultations to Nickens Agency Inc., The Eye Institute, and Karate Academy in Mt. Airy and with Cambria Pharmacy on North 5th Street. The business owners then worked with Mt. Airy USA and HACE to secure funding for the improvements through the Targeted Blocks program.
Check out these before, after and preliminary design images of some of the featured storefronts.
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Few volunteers have been as involved with the Collaborative as Joe Matje, Project Engineer at Bruce E. Brooks & Associates. He has volunteered on eleven projects and now serves on the Board of Directors.
Through the Collaborative, Joe has been able to help nonprofits with the nuts and bolts of sustainability. He utilizes his expertise in construction engineering, building systems, and energy use to help nonprofits renovate and construct new buildings that are energy efficient and have well-functioning mechanical systems, like heating and air-flow. “I try to not get too complicated but make simple and basic recommendations for the clients that will have big impacts for their dollars,” says Joe. Read Full Story
The Collaborative staff had a great time at the Phillies game on a hot Tuesday night complete with popcorn and peanuts. Unfortunately the Phillies narrowly lost in extra innings. Thanks to all the friends, board members, and volunteers who came out.
The Collaborative has released a report presenting the dozens of design concepts developed at its Industrial Sites Interim Reuse Charrette. The October 2009 charrette challenged four teams to design temporary uses for vacant industrial sites selected by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and the New Kensington Community Development Corporation.Volunteer firm KSK Architects Planners Historians documented project sites, researched design precedents, and facilitated the charrette.
The charrette encouraged a sense of fun and experimentation towards an often intractable problem: long-term vacant industrial lots. The designers created a range of temporary, low cost, and high impact solutions that could help reclaim, repurpose, and raise the profile of vacant industrial sites in neighborhoods in Philadelphia and other older, American cities.
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A factory in West Kensington that once produced Union army uniforms has been transformed into a state-of-the-art green jobs training center by the Energy Coordinating Agency.
The Collaborative staff recently had a personal tour of The John S. and James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Center with Walter Yakabosky, director of the training center, and Frances Cichetti of ECA. We got to see the innovative training facilities and green features of the building first-hand and explore some of our favorite topics—how to reuse industrial buildings and practice sustainability in urban neighborhoods.
ECA worked with Re: Vision Architects to turn the 19th century building into a training center with classrooms, work and demonstration spaces, and offices. The building is being considered for LEED Gold certification and has green features like a white roof, gray water recycling and excellent insulation.
Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us at the 14th Annual Bowling Ball. It was a great success and we had a blast!
300 people bowled on more than 50 lanes and over 30 lucky people took home fantastic raffle prizes, including Uchenna Okere from the PhilaNOMA team who won the coveted Berkshires Weekend Get Away prize that includes a to visit MASS MoCA and stay at The Porches Inn. We were able to raise nearly $27,000 to support our work of strengthening neighborhoods through design.
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There was some fantastic sportsmanship and awesome team spirit on the lanes. During the night session, the Pennoni Associates team rolled the top team score for the second year in a row while George of O’Donnell Naccarato had the best male individual score and Joann of Pennoni Associates rolled the top female individual score. TRF won the award for best team spirit, BWA Architecture + Planning were the best dressed and the We Don’t Give a Split! team from Bruce E. Brooks and Associates won best name. Check out all the team photos.
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