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Jenn Richards: Community design in the era of social distancing
Jenn Richards is the Interim Director of the Community Design Collaborative, a team of Philadelphia designers that provide pro bono preliminary design services to local non-profit organizations and raises awareness about the importance of design in revitalizing communities.
The Collaborative was founded in 1991 by a group of architects that shared belief in the importance of design’s role to build healthy communities with strong futures. Nearly 30 years later, the Community Design Collaborative continues to promote equitable development and strengthen Philadelphia neighborhoods through design.
Richards was named Interim Director of the Collaborative in the fall of 2019 after long-time Executive Director, Beth Miller, accepted a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
When the COVID-19 epidemic hit Philadelphia in March, the Community Design Collaborative launched their ‘Design SWAT Team,’ a rapid-response service for front-line organizations responding to the outbreak.
“Where as our volunteers might not be experts in contagion control, they know a lot about how to make the best use of physical spaces,” Richards points out, “that’s what we’re all dealing with now with social distancing.”
The Collaborative connected with the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, a local non-profit that serves Philadelphians experiencing homelessness. Due to increased need and multiple location shutdowns, the Mission was in search of creative solutions to help maintain safe social distancing measures, while continuing to provide meals and other essential services to residents at their 13th Street location.
The Design SWAT Team toured the site virtually, spoke with staff about their experiences, and responded with proposals in just one week. These ideas were iterated and improved during two virtual design reviews and are now being implemented.
The Community Design Collaborative hopes to provide similar support to other local non-profit organizations and businesses in coming weeks. If your organization may be in need of support, visit cdesignc.org for more information.
In this conversation, Jenn Richards discusses how the design of built environments can strengthen communities and what role design can play in addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.
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By Parallax Collaboration
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Jenn Richards is the Interim Director of the Community Design Collaborative, a team of Philadelphia designers that provide pro bono preliminary design services to local non-profit organizations and raises awareness about the importance of design in revitalizing communities.
The Collaborative was founded in 1991 by a group of architects that shared belief in the importance of design’s role to build healthy communities with strong futures. Nearly 30 years later, the Community Design Collaborative continues to promote equitable development and strengthen Philadelphia neighborhoods through design.
Richards was named Interim Director of the Collaborative in the fall of 2019 after long-time Executive Director, Beth Miller, accepted a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
When the COVID-19 epidemic hit Philadelphia in March, the Community Design Collaborative launched their ‘Design SWAT Team,’ a rapid-response service for front-line organizations responding to the outbreak.
“Where as our volunteers might not be experts in contagion control, they know a lot about how to make the best use of physical spaces,” Richards points out, “that’s what we’re all dealing with now with social distancing.”
The Collaborative connected with the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, a local non-profit that serves Philadelphians experiencing homelessness. Due to increased need and multiple location shutdowns, the Mission was in search of creative solutions to help maintain safe social distancing measures, while continuing to provide meals and other essential services to residents at their 13th Street location.
The Design SWAT Team toured the site virtually, spoke with staff about their experiences, and responded with proposals in just one week. These ideas were iterated and improved during two virtual design reviews and are now being implemented.
The Community Design Collaborative hopes to provide similar support to other local non-profit organizations and businesses in coming weeks. If your organization may be in need of support, visit cdesignc.org for more information.
In this conversation, Jenn Richards discusses how the design of built environments can strengthen communities and what role design can play in addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.