A SUBSTANTIALLY

SMALL STEP

Ben McHugh

2010-2011 Architectural Thesis Major Advisor

Minor Advisor

| Ben McHugh| Dr. Wes Janz

| Robert Koester

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AbstractCase Studies

Acadiana Outreach CenterGreen Chair ProjectMillennium Place Park Pavilion

Muncie, Indiana Home | Community | Potential

Urban Light Community GardenThe Small Steps Already TakenThe Path AheadServices Rendered

The ShopA Building for Future Buildings’ SakeUrban Initiatives

Community IncubatorFaceted ConstructionCultivating New Business and New Knowledge

Source Review

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Abstract

The world is full of life. The back alleys, mansions, cigarette shops, organic grocery stores, soup kitchens and

steak houses take in the same flesh and muscle, the same breath and bones. Regardless of socio-economic

classes, political leanings, sexual orientation, age, or the limitless other “differences” we have, we all exist

as life. And despite how some may believe the contrary, we are all human beings with human needs and

human rights. Every generation since civilization seems to have the same problem of privilege and poverty;

like good and evil, the latter is detested but accepted as unchangeable. But there have always been those

speaking in hope about their dreams of social betterment and justice for the downtrodden.

A substantially small step is one that recognizes the great influence of even the smallest project in restoring

a struggling community. It also replaces the process of flattening a neighborhood to rebuild from scratch

to that of using the people and energy of the place to build one idea on top of another. In this gradual,

building method, each new step is a reaction to the success of the previous step, so that every project is

relevant to the current needs of the community. Based on experience in the community and finding the

energy already pulsing through the South Central neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana, I set out to build upon

existing projects that have been working for years as I envision the possible future for this community

should they take a certain series of steps. My hope is that we can see the potential of a place through

examining the steps taken to get there.

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A Substantially Small Step...

...recognizes the significance of small, deliberate steps within the

process of revitalizing a community.

...realizes that the community must be involved with and dedicated to

the projects from the beginning to maximize its potential for success.

...is a repeatable project that focuses on the needs identified within

the community, then acts accordingly. The project is repeatable even

though the built outcome could be completely different when the

needs are competely different.

Case Studies

Moving Forward by Understanding the Past

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Acadiana Outreach Center - Lafayette, LA

The Acadiana Outreach Center’s mission is “Giving people back their God-given dignity.” They accomplish

this goal through assessing real needs and through social programming; and instead of looking to provide

as many “hand-outs” as possible, they work with each individual to

determine specific needs and steps to solutions to assure they are

not just feeding the various problems and addictions. In 2003, they

contacted the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Building Institute to

develop a new master plan for their campus, which set into movement

a highly productive and educational partnership.

Parasol Commons Seating [Acadiana] The first construction project undertaken by the Building Institute was

a seating are for the commons space previously seen as a barren and

uninviting wasteland. The concept was simple, design a space with

seating and shade that can remain dry and cool. It was also intended

to serve as a template to be reused in other areas of need that could be

built with simple construction knowledge and a small budget. Besides

providing a wonderful place to sit for the residents, this project was a

very unique, hands-on learning experience for the students involved

in the project. It let students experience the task of laying out the

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footing and pouring the concrete; it also taught them about timber

construction and joinery.

New Leaf Garden Gazebo [Acadiana]

In the same year as the Commons Seating project, the New Leaf

Garden Gazebo was being built on the far edge of the campus.

This gazebo gives credence to my plan of a community owned

and designed project because the residents of the community

were involved at all levels of design and construction. Just a small

pavilion was a major boost for the residents; they could now gather

under it on how summer days while the grill was going, or get a

little respite after weeding the nearby neighborhood garden. It

goes to show that if someone comes in with a lot of energy and

hope for a space, those around them will likely be excited to get

involved as well; when they see what a space previously seen as

useless can become with some energy and effort, the drive becomes

contagious. As further proof of the inspiration resulting from this

project, the residents initiated a major clean-up campaign upon the

completion of the gazebo because when you create something you

are proud of, it gives you the necessary energy and desire to keep

repeating that process to the rest of your life.

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Commons Performance Space [Acadiana]

The Performance Space again speaks to the success of the

partnership between the Acadiana Outreach Center and the

Building Institute especially in the amount of donated materials

and labor to get the job done. The project again speaks to the

ownership of space and taking back the life that had previously

been missing from the site and from the residents. There was an

amazing force of reconciliation at play during the construction

when college students can work with the residents who suffer

from homelessness, drug abuse or physical abuse and also with

a small group of convicts from the local sheriff’s department.

After the publication and inspiration found in the previous

projects, the people working on the performance space were

able to come together because they knew that the differences

they had should not deprive them of the experience of working

towards a common goal of helping those in need.

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Green Chair Project - Minneapolis, MN

Starting in South Minneapolis in 1991, the Green Chair Project was a

response to a couple lawn chairs being stolen from the backyard of

two artists, Chris Hand and Joel Sisson. Hand and Sisson decided to go

about designing and building a total of 90 Adirondack chairs with the

help of 14 local teenagers. In a similar strategy to the Acadiana projects,

these two artists responded to their injustice by addressing the larger

prejudice towards their neighbors as an opportunity for reconciliation

and education.

The project served as reconciliation and education on multiple levels.

The teenagers, who would be assumed as gang members, were given

fundamental lessons in mathematics, problem solving, physical activity and following careful directions.

The neighborhood and those outside of it were also given the lesson that just because a group of teens

in a drug-addled neighborhood have made mistakes in the past, they are capable of contributing to the

community; you just have to reach them on a different level than a test based education.

Hand and Sisson were able to identify an opportunity when it came along, and instead of reporting their

chairs missing or hunting down those that took them, they reacted in kindness. They reacted in a way they

thought a police arrest or investigation couldn’t because when a problem is removed, another problem

usually just fills its place. Their strategy was instead to use these troubled teens, possibly the source of the

problem, and use them to bring about something respectable.

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Millennium Place Park Pavilion - Muncie, IN

In conjunction with the Muncie Urban Design Studio, Professor

Olon Dotson and a small studio designed and built a pavilion

for the newly established Millennium Place neighborhood in

Muncie, IN during the spring semester of the 2005-06 school

year. As part of the neighborhood redevelopment, the studio’s

pavilion would be included for the central park. This applies to

my project because it further demonstrates the energy going

into reinventing Muncie and it was done very heavily under

the direction of students.

However, as far as I can tell, the design and implementation

was completed without much or any input from the

community members. I am sure that the people are

appreciative and enjoy the pavilion, but I hope to begin

my project with the notion that by the end, the people will

know it is their own because they played major roles in its

production.

Muncie, Indiana

A Framework for Urban Renewal

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Home | Community | Potential

Muncie, Indiana holds a place in my heart; my pregnant wife, my dog and my home are here, my roots are

taking place. Besides that, Muncie holds great potential to be an inspiration for others when they look

to finally pay attention and give back power and dignity to the poor and victimized people in their own

communities. It has also already been given a good deal of support in the way of facelifts to a few key areas;

downtown façade restorations, Millennium Place and Ball State University being the main ones.

The downtown façade restoration program has

taken ahold of downtown Muncie and has moved

it in a great direction, including attracting Ivy Tech

to move some classes into a newly renovated

building. The restoration endeavor really showed

me that a shabby and downtrodden community of

people and buildings can be given a simple facelift

that begins to usher in new life and energy. While

downtown Muncie is still struggling with attracting

large groups of people, interest is definitely

increasing.

Seeing Munsyanna Homes being renovated to

become Millennium Place and trying to wrap my

head around the level of filth that many people

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were living in combined with the amount of drug use/solicitation, prostitution and violence that took

place there just eight years ago gives me great hope. It is a wonderful inspiration that such time, effort and

resources would be put towards helping a community where a large share of the population would not be

seen as “deserving” by today’s standards. Though later phases were nixed from the master plan, the new

housing stock with a centralized park and playground areas gives the neighborhood back to the residents.

It is no longer dominated by the destructive activities that used to control it; even if they still take place, the

community is now controlled by the families.

Ball State University has taken to redesigning its campus over

the past eight years in a dramatic fashion. Infrastructural

improvements, new and completely renovated dormitories

and facilities have all been coordinated to give the university a

better aesthetic to help attract students. Ball State’s face lift is

helpful for Muncie as a whole as well when it attracts business

and outside investment, but there has always been a disconnect

between the university and the city. Ball State and its resources

have the potential to instigate dramatic change for Muncie in better ways than just aesthetics or economics;

Professor Olon Dotson being an integral part of the Millennium Place redevelopment being just one

example. With thousands of students descending on one campus from all over the world and professors

from all forms of vocation, there is a powerful and intelligent force of thinkers, workers and instigators just

waiting for the opportunity to use what they’ve been taught for the good of their community.

Urban Light Community Garden

The Impetus for South Central Muncie

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The Small Steps Already Taken

As a source of inspiration, I studied the success of the Urban Light Garden. A few years ago, a once

abandoned lot was bought by a couple from a local church and a simple vegetable and flower garden

was planted. After a few brief years, it has continued to grow and continue to reach into the community

members’ lives. However, the garden’s success is due to many factors besides just a dedicated couple to get

the ball rolling.

The garden owes much of its success to fulfilling needs and desires identified within the community and

fulfilling them in full partnership with neighbors and outside facilitators alike. Garnering new relationships,

building knowledge, getting exercise, obtaining healthy food, and monetary profit are all obtainable with

the garden. Better yet, though, is the example it gives for the collaboration of multiple sites. The Urban

Light Garden is part of a network of other gardens in the city of Muncie that communicate with each other

to gather workers when needed and spread extra resources when obtained.

The great potential of the garden lies in its permanentization within the community. It started small, with

a few dedicated contributors, but gradually gained in participation and output. Besides just looking nice, it

has also been able to serve as a partial and occasionally a major source of food for those in the community.

Seeing the growth and support of the one garden has also inspired others to buy abandoned lots for re-

purposing. Among the plans in process are a mini apple-orchard, space for a small fish hatchery, and the

development of a modulated greenhouse that could be implemented with little monetary input and in a

small amount of time by local builders in a multitude of lots.

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Urban Garden

The Urban Light Community

Garden is just one part of a growing

network of gardens that share

ideas, workers and supplies to be

as effective as possible in serving

the communities in which they

exist. And although their specific

garden only serves an immediate

neighborhood, it has the potential

to start reaching out to larger

communities nearby

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The LaPrees are part of local church in the neighborhood, and a

number of years ago they decided to intentionally move into this

underprivileged socioeconomic community along with a group

of other families to better understand they people to whom they

wanted to minister. They realized that they could not completely

sympathize with their needs if they never experienced their

hardships. Along with having a more holistic idea of what they

struggle with on a day to day basis, they also were able to truly

become part of the community.

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The Path Ahead

The LaPrees saw a need in their neighborhood for a community garden, so they set out to find an empty to

rehab into a garden. Just a block away was a great corner lot, so they bought it and began work.

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For five years now, the garden has been taking root in the community. 11 nearby households now take part

in the planting, upkeep, and picking, each utilizing it for whichever need or desire they have.

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Understanding the factors that have led to the success of the first garden, others have begun to buy vacant

lots to propose other plans to help renovate the neighborhood.

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So, if one garden can provide a set of services for 11 households, 9 repurposed lots has the potential to serve

99 households so long as each time it is a community need driven endeavor.

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After years of development and production on vacant lots in conjunction with building a wood shop in

a nearby furniture store, the neighborhood would be seeing evidence of a united effort for revitalization.

Homes will be fixed up, gardens and greenhouses abound, and new business open with the assistance of

the community incubator.

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Services Rendered

Of the many reasons the community garden is beneficial,

there are a few main deliverables that serve to promote basic

needs for those who participate. New relationships are built

and new knowledge and teamwork skills are gained. They

spend time outside breathing fresh air and getting exercise to

help maintain a better overall health. And depending on the

success of the garden and the diligence of the workers, it can

generate enough produce for general use in the neighborhood

or it could provide enough to be sold in markets. Yet one

of the greatest assets to be gained is the next generation of

leaders being raised in an environment of cooperation and

hard work that can show direct results from the time and

energy that have been put into the task at hand.

The Shop

A Community Based Renovation

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Drill Press

Jointer

Table Saw

Miter Saw

Wood Lathe

Sanders

Planer

Bandsaw

Sawdust Collection

Air Compressor

Bathroom

A Building for Future Buildings’ Sake

The Shop is an integral step in this proposal because it has the

potential to be a source of education, relation building, exercise

and profit. With art and vocational training hitting roadblocks

in schools today, The Shop could provide essential life skills

coupled with creativity and problem solving that kids may

not be learning at the traditional public school. Local skilled

craftsmen are also given the opportunity to become leaders and

teachers, which builds a whole new set of skills itself. By learning

how to work together and come together to create something

of value, you learn how to create valuable relationships with those around you even if they have differences

that once seemed insurmountable. People, skilled and unskilled alike, would have a place for production if

they were looking to renovate their home, create pieces of art or generate commercial goods for a profit.

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Urban Initiatives

Upon completion of the wood shop rehab project, the

neighborhood would then be fully equipped to start

on a new venture of vocational training, education, and

entrepreneurship. Along with local residents who have

expertise in gardening, building, plumbing and wiring, the

local youth have the opportunity to learn first hand these ever

important skills. With so many empty lots and open space in

general, there is sufficient space to build, learn, experiment

and innovate. And when the community incubator begins

construction, the shop will be invaluable, as will all the new

experts as designers, constructors and experienced workers

for building something directly for and by the community.

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Community Incubator

New Construction, Same Potential

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Faceted Construction

Besides the benefit it provides once built, the Community

Incubator also serves an important role during design

and construction. At a time when it would be built, the

community will already have been working together in

community gardens, rehabbing homes, creating in The Shop

and hopefully taking their neighborhood back from the

clutches of obscurity. They will have the skills, knowledge

and relationships in place that allows them to come together

and take the reins when it comes time to design and then

build this structure. Better still is that it could be built in

stages, so that they can add to it when a need arises or if

they realize that they do not need as many offices, but the

classrooms are always filled to the brim. The design is only a

possible vision of the future, but it is based on the principles

found in the community garden: it is addressing a need seen

in the community (joblessness and lack of proper education),

it would be spearheaded by a dedicated few, and it reaches

out into the community in a meaningful and honest manner

to provide services for whoever desires them.

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Cultivating New Business and New Knowledge

The Community Incubator works along the same avenue of a “business incubator,”

which provides all the amenities a small business needs under one roof without

the hassle of trying to find a building to move into that might need all sorts of

repairs or technological updates. It follows that model in that it also provides all

inclusive services and amenities for local small businesses, but moves beyond that

by providing educational and experimentation spaces in or near the building. The

spaces included are based on conversations with some of the nearby residents

as well as a working knowledge of a business incubator located across town. The

design works to provide a contemporary element on an otherwise drab stretch of

road, calling out the fact that the neighborhood it most specifically works with is

worth noticing and worth investment.

The building is situated mostly on the West-East axis to provide nominal and

controllable light for the classroom and office spaces. Because they are deeper than

they are tall, the classrooms are also given skylights that will direct light down onto

the classroom walls, not the desks, to provide the preferred indirect light. All spaces

have operable windows and the classrooms each have their own exterior doorway

for break-out sessions and ease of access for any quick brakes. A roof garden is

located above the classrooms and is accessible for the second floor hallway. It can be

useful for any number of gardening lessons, as well as a place to relax or eat lunch.

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Source Review

Acadiana Outreach Center - UL Lafayette Building Institute

Among other projects, this website details the design/construction projects done by the Building

Institute at UL Lafayette. It offers yearly assessments throughout the various phases of completion for the

Acadiana campus. This website offered some of the first inspirational images and stories that convinced

me to do this sort of project

“Acadiana Outreach Center.” UL Lafayette: Building Institute. Web. Fall 2010. <http://buildinginstitute.

louisiana.edu/>.

Design Like You Give a Damn

This books goes through a multitude of humanitarian focused design projects ranging from temporary

shelters to permanent schools, but they are all focused on helping the people who use them or

challenging others to think more critically about what is happening in the world. It featured a couple

buildings that first introduced me to the Rural Studio.

Architecture for Humanity, ed. Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises.

New York, NY: Metropolis, 2006. Print.

Architects Without Frontiers

Though the book focuses on war-torn cities and how they could or should be rebuilt, the theory runs over

into depressed cities as well. Focusing on local vernacular and building materials, it goes on to support

the important concepts of designing for and with the indigenous people.

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Charlesworth, Esther Ruth. Architects Without Frontiers: War, Reconstruction and Design Responsibility.

Oxford: Elsevier/Architectural, 2006. Print.

Urban Recipes

This site documents as series of artistic and architectural interventions throughout various city settings. It

was amusing sometimes and compelling at others, but it was always inspiring.

Cirugeda, Santiago. “Urban Recipes.” RECETAS URBANAS. Web. Fall 2010. <http://www.recetasurbanas.

net/>.

Citizen Architect

This is an amazing DVD that chronicles a house design and construction by the Rural Studio while also

speaking about Samuel Mockbee’s thoughts and views that either contrast or contribute to the views of

other players in the profession. One of the most compelling parts of the movie is seeing the relationships

being forged between the neighbors, the professors and the students.

Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio. Dir. Sam W. Douglas. Carnivalesque

Films/Big Beard Films, 2010. DVD.

Compared to What?

An article featured on Archinect by Professor Wes Janz that lets us into the head of an empassioned

humanitarian and thinker as he and his students travel through distressed areas around the Midwest.

Being my major advisor, it’s interesting to read about how he thinks and writes compared to how he

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speaks with us as students. One of the very important traits anyone should have, this article speaks of

honesty even at the risk of sounding prejudiced, and if we are exposed in our honesty, we risk pain, but it

is also an invitation for others to join in and open up.

Janz, Wes. “Compared to What?” Archinect - Making Architecture More Connected. Web. Fall 2010. <http://

archinect.com/features/article.php?id=50579_0_23_0_C>.

First Name Basis

Another honest article from Wes Janz, this one moves around much more, focusing on many similar

thoughts from different locations instead of different thoughts of one location.

Janz, Wes. “First Name Basis.” Design Altruism Project. Web. Fall 2010. <http://design-altruism-project.

org/?p=86>.

Project H Design

The various projects done by Project H speak to the “small step” appeal of tailoring the learning and

design process to each new client. Their work has a staying and growing power that I desire for my own

project.

Project H Design. Web. Fall 2010. <http://projecthdesign.org/>.

Rural Studio

The Rural Studio is one of the main inspirations behind my desire for this project. The design process

is rooted in the client’s desires and needs and they must work within a relatively tight budget, but

the projects always turn out as high quality “capital a” Architecture. They are also educational at their

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core, showing the students that they are capable of building a house as they are given the proper

encouragement, tools and assitance.

“Rural Studio.” CADC - College of Architecture, Design and Construction. Web. Fall 2010. <http://www.cadc.

auburn.edu/rural-studio/Default.aspx>.

The Green Chair Project

This project came forth from a potentially bad situation of stolen property, but it resulted in a wonderful

lesson on reconciliation. After having a couple chairs stolen from their back yard, two artists recruited a

group of at-rist teenagers to help them build a set of 90 new chairs that they then handed out in pairs to

everyone on their block for free. Instead of assuming these kids were good-for-nothings, these two artists

saw the potential and worked with it to educate and inspire everyone around them.

“The Green Chair Project.” The Green Chair Project. Web. Fall 2010. <http://curtprins.com/pro_bono/

greenchair.org/index.html>.

Photo Credits

Acadiana Outreach Center: Brad Priekulis

Green Chair Project: Joel Sisson and Chris Hand

Millennium Place Park Pavilion: Ben Ross

Muncie Facade Renovation: ppt by Gretchen Cheesman

Muncie Community Garden & Dream Club Site: Jennifer LaPrees and Emilie Carpenter