THE TEAMS
“The Sacred Places/Civic Spaces Design Challenge brought congregations, communities, and volunteer designers together through an intensive, interactive design process to create design concepts for activating their sacred places as community hubs.”
“The Design Challenge congregations, community partners, and volunteer design teams were chosen from a larger group that expressed an interest in participating.
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Meet the Volunteer Design Teams
Site Selection:
ELIGIBILITY:
Active congregations housed in a purpose-built religious structure which is at least 50 years old.
Congregations with a viable community group to serve as a partner.
Congregations located in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
CRITERIA CONSIDERED:
Congregation’s interest in utilizing space for broad community use, rather than just space sharing.
Organizational capacity of congregation and community partner to fulfill mission and implement the proposed project.
Broader significance - potential for project to address the needs of low- and moderate-income residents, improve quality of life, support a neighborhood plan, or provide new models for addressing community needs.
Diversity of sites, based on location and size, building typology, denomination, congregation size, operation/ownership model.
Potential of project to act as a prototype for other sacred places.
Design Team Selection:
ELIGIBILITY:
Integrated, multidisciplinary teams with a design firm as the lead.
Local teams or teams willing to travel to Philadelphia throughout the design process.
CRITERIA CONSIDERED:
Willingness to be matched with any of the three sites.
Prior design experience related to sacred places, civic spaces, and historic properties.
Prior design experience with community and nonprofit development.
Prior experience with community-engaged design.
Prior volunteer experience with the Collaborative and/or Partners for Sacred Places.
Sacred Places/Civic Spaces was made possible by the generous support of the William Penn Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
