Patchwork Design
2021 AIA Middle Tennessee Design Award Nominee
This project was a collaboration between me, my studio classmate Katie Schmidt, my studio professor Kevin Stevens, the residents of College Hill Courts and the surrounding Westside neighborhood, and the Westside Community Evolves nonprofit. It seeks to address the needs of a long-underserved community in Chattanooga. The Westside, a majority-Black community between downtown and the Tennessee River, was redlined by the Homeowners Loan Corporation, preventing residents from obtaining loans to buy new homes.
Over time, the community suffered from neglect and threats of redevelopment and displacement. A highway was built through western Chattanooga that physically separated the neighborhood from the rest of the city. We were tasked with creating something that would benefit the Westside and integrate it back into the rest of Chattanooga.
Our site was the James A. Henry Building on Grove Street. Originally built in 1938, this school primarily served the children of the nearby College Hill Courts public housing development. Over time, the school became much more than just a school - it became the social and cultural hub of the Westside neighborhood. The school hosted many events - speaking engagements, dances, parties, art exhibitions, and many more that entertained and inspired several generations of Westside residents.
The school closed in the mid-1980s and was passed from owner to owner for several years after its closure. At various points it has served as a private school, a YMCA, and medical offices. Today, the building is owned by the Chattanooga Housing Authority and sits mostly vacant, its only tenant being the Westside Youth Center on a portion of the first floor.
We were tasked with creating "community infrastructure" - something that would benefit and celebrate the diversity and culture of the neighborhood. Throughout the design process, we remained in contact with Westside Evolves and several Westside residents, and their feedback greatly influenced our design process.
Our final design was intended to be a creative oasis for Westside residents that would primarily cater to children. The programmatic elements of our design would be stitched together, much like a patchwork quilt. The James A. Henry Building would be repurposed into an art education center, library, and art gallery. A new building would be constructed behind the school, which would contain a cafe, transitional housing, and a rooftop lounge. Both buildings would be connected by a large ramp system with greenery, seating, and additional gallery space. The ramps would frame a spacious courtyard featuring multiple native trees and shrubs to provide shade as well as a large amphitheater for speaking engagements or relaxation.
With all this program and the feedback that we received; this is the first project that I felt really made a positive impact on a community, which is why this is my most favorite project to date. The gallery below provides additional details about the site.
Knowing the history and sentimental value of the site, we did not want to alter the building footprint too significantly.
In our design, the many murals on the exterior of the building would be preserved.
These murals spoke of a real creative spirit in the Westside that we translated into our design.
To mitigate the urban heat island effect caused by lack of tree cover, we covered the site with multiple native trees and shrubs.
The buildings were also outfitted with shading devices and translucent glass to mitigate heat gain.
As seen here, the site creates a comfortable, creative oasis that would once again make the James A Henry the cultural and social hub of the Westside!
