SMALL CENTER HEADQUARTERS (1725 BARONNE)

Small Center Engagement

Small Center teamed up with Gulf Coast Housing Partnerships to realize this 7000 square foot permanent headquarters. The facility provides ample workspace for staff, students, fellows, and interns as Small Center expands, as well as community-based project studio space for courses such as the popular design-build studios. Most importantly, the new site helps to bring Small Center geographically closer to its project sites and partners as Small Center seeks to both strengthen existing relationships and forge new ones with community members, nonprofits and government agencies.

The building combined a restoration of the historic façade of the former Kaufman’s department store with a space created for Small Center’s specific needs. The 2014 Fall Design/Build studio focused on interior build outs to enable Small Center to tailor the facility to our needs. The studio worked with Small Center staff to develop an overall concept and to prioritize office space, exhibition walls, workspace and shop layout. School of Architecture faculty and current and past project partners gave their input, as well. The studio’s work focused on three key spaces: the storefront, studio and office space, and the shop. The studio worked to make the storefront an active space for programming community events, workshops, lectures, and displays. The studio designed and constructed moving walls for exhibitions and playful seating to activate the storefront window. The studio designed and built studio desks for Small Center, a wall of shelves that delineates the staff space, and three micro-offices for focused independent work. Finally, the studio designed the shop space to hold two Design/Build studios a year, in addition to URBANbuild.

Partner Organization

Gulf Coast Housing Partnership pursues commercial and residential and developments with transformative potential, both for the end users and the communities where they are located throughout the Gulf Coast region, from Texas to Florida.

Outcome

Thanks to this Design/Build studio, Small Center has been able to curate semester-long exhibits in the storefront. Additionally, Small Center has hosts monthly discussions on the many intersecting issues that affect our city. More significant than creating space for Small Center’s public programming, having a special, customized project space closer to project sites has been invaluable to Small Center’s work.

Collaborators

Gulf Coast Housing Partnership