Week 4

Once again another week has flown by, and I feel like we are all just trying to survive in this ridiculous heat.  On Monday, Nashville Civic Design Center’s new book Moving Tennessee Forward was featured on the front page of the Tennessean.  I put the link of the article below so you can get a better feel of the type of work NCDC does, and the book really is very interesting and has stirred up a lot of discussion in the community. 

NCDC: Moving Tennessee Forward

The Tennessean

Last week I talked about a project we are helping with called the Sacred Spaces for the Magdalene House, and this was the main focus this week.  The Magdalene House is applying for a grant to get this park built and there is a whole team of us working on it.  I did not realize what a hassle it is to apply for a grant, and it really is very time consuming.  The team consists of the people at the Magdalene House, the landscape architect, Metro Parks Department, and NCDC who is helping put the whole grant together and help with parts of the design.  On Tuesday I got to sit in on the meeting for this grant because I did a couple renderings of the space. The landscape architect designed this space with lavender bushes marking a pathway that leads you to the “sacred space” at the end.  There are a lot of other spiritual and meaningful concepts in this design that have to do with the Magdalene House and the victims of the flood.  The grant was due today at 3pm, so hopefully they will get it!  This is a before and after I did in 3dmax/photoshop.

Existing space

Concept rendering The other big project I have been working on is the outdoor exhibit for the Designing Action competition.  On Wednesday I had a presentation at lunchtime to show the office the different concepts I have come up with, and it went really well.  They liked two of my designs, one is more specific to the project and the other is more sculptural/abstract.  It will just depend on the time and money we have and how to actually get it built.  So now I will be working on fine tuning these designs and talking to local fabricators. 

Nashville Civic Design Center does not really market themselves, instead like other non-profits they receive grants and funding that help keep their doors open.  They receive funding from UT that helps pay some salaries and they have a large fundraiser in October that helps cover operational costs.  NCDC also receives grants that are project-based.  For example, TDOT gave a grant for their new book Moving Tennessee Forward because it deals with transportation, the Health Department gave a grant for Shaping Healthy Cities, and Metro Planning sponsors the UT summer architecture studio.  They do all the research and design work on projects, so government agencies and other organizations will seek out the help of NCDC when needed.       

This is Ryanne Hilbert, another intern at NCDC.  She is going to be a senior at Vanderbilt this fall and works here in the office with Patricia, the social scientist.  This week Ryanne has been really busy because she is the one that has put the whole grant together.  There is a ton of paperwork involved and you have to be very organized and focused to write a grant.    

Comments

[MBR]

An amazing week overall. The link to the front page Tennessean article did not work. Check out the links shown and adjust accordingly. The before and after of the sacred space concept is quite effective and am keeping my figures crossed about Magdalene House getting the grant to move forward -- an exciting project! Check out the captions I added -- adjust if you like. Be sure and add captions to future images. You have made details about how NCDC's funding works quite understandable and its clear the challenges they face. Their mission is critical to the success of Nashville as a viable city. The city of Nashville is their client in a way, and marketing their mission and moving projects forward requires marketing unique for a non-profit organization. Glad you are seeing the complexity around fundraising and applying for grants. Being in the middle of all that is happening with NCDC this summer, and your level of participation in projects is extraordinary!