The Storefront for Community Design opened Monday in Church Hill.
Located at 1001 N. 25th St., the organization provides pro bono architectural consultation for homeowners and business owners. It offers additional services, including architectural drawings, at affordable rates.
The organization is a collaboration among the City of Richmond, residents, civic associations and a number of architecture firms. For more information, go to www.storefrontrichmond.org.
The Storefront for Community Design opened Monday in Church Hill.
Located at 1001 N. 25th St., the organization provides pro bono architectural consultation for homeowners and business owners. It offers additional services, including architectural drawings, at affordable rates.
The organization is a collaboration among the City of Richmond, residents, civic associations and a number of architecture firms. For more information, go to www.storefrontrichmond.org.
Thanks to inspiring leadership from Cynthia Newbille and Burt Pinnock! The Storefront is the result of group efforts around the city, including a number of community brainstorming sessions led by David Herring and Kim Chen. It’s wonderful to see the doors open to high quality and accessible design resources.
Great idea – my guess is that these folks will be a good resource for folks looking to rehab historic and possibly-historic buildings without drawing the gimlet eye of the historic-preservation cops.
Great idea – lets just give away our services. What other industry would give away what they do, for free. Especially when architectural firms are decimated. Nice job Storefront, keep undercutting the profession.
I emphathize with the above (Jon’s) frustration, but strongly disagree with the conclusion. While our (the Architect’s) industry is no doubt in the midst of a fundamental shift, and faces being completely marginalized, I don’t view this initiative as an inadvertent effort to undercut our profession. If anything, I view pro bono and the services suggested by this firm as an opportunity to reinvigorate the passion of an Architect and helps convey the unique qualifications we posses. As Architect’s, we need to seize opportunities for legitimacy outside of starchitecture and green building, and look to apply our services to broader… Read more »
Gee, another example of a sell-out architect… I doubt a group of doctors would do the same thing….so why do architects do this?? Architects have an important role in creating built environments that are safe for human habitation. Why is this not valued by our professional members? Now I understand the value of being charitable and helping our communities in a pro bono capacity when the economy is stable but not when things are so dire for the entire profession. Too many people are out of work in the architectural world. The rest of the world needs to know that!… Read more »
You doubt doctors would do the same thing? Have you ever seen the free clinics in low income neighborhoods? It is up to you as a professional to prove that your services add value that is beyond what is (or may be) provided for free. America is a market economy, this how business works here. Perhaps the reason the architecture profession is in such dire straits is because there are simply too many architects. Success in the business world is about change, so embrace it and carve out a niche for yourself that clients desire instead of whining about the… Read more »