2023

Patchwork: A Black + Rural Homecoming

I95, South Carolina, United States of America

2023

Status

Design Proposal, Unbuilt

Typologies

Architecture | Urban Design | Conceptual Studies

Project Scope

Speculative Development, Visualization, Design Drawings, Physical Modeling

about

This call and response echoes across the nation, beckoning Descendant people to embrace and amplify the authentic narratives of Black Histories while mobilizing change agents back to the Rural South. Within this landscape, a collection of "place-makers" emerge, each imbued with the distinctive vernacular of the Black Rural South. These architectural interventions serve as catalysts for change, manifesting in familiar Descendant typologies and forming a vibrant patchwork of spatial nodes along a corridor deeply interwoven with Rural Black Southerners. With deliberate linkages to Black history, these interventions activate forgotten spaces and amplify community narratives, igniting a transformative movement poised to reshape the Rural South

Phase I

Phase I of developing the Rural Patches is anticipated to take place within the first or second year of the annual reunion. these spaces are characterized by their modest and humble approach. making them easily developable venues where reunion attendees can gather, reconnect, and kick off the annual festivities.

Rural Patch: Floating Praise House

Floating gracefully upon the tranquil waters throughout the corridor, the praise house becomes a symbolic sanctuary of spiritual connection, cultural revival, and communal joy.

Rural Patch: Garden of Memory

"Often the rural Black Folks who lived in shacks on the edges and margins of town conceptualized the yard as a continuation of living space. Careful attention might be given to the plantings of flowers, the positing of a porch or a rope-hung swing."

-bell hooks, Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice, 1995

Rural Patch: Griot Porch

"We need to think about the porch as a transitional space."

- bell hooks, Architecture in Black Life: Talking Space with LaVerne Wells - Bowie, 1995

Rural Patch: Dinner in a Greenhouse

This patch not only represents a culinary experience, but one of a symbolic journey of remembrance and empowerment. This venue aims to bring back together individuals with ancestral ties to this region to "Break Bread" while also addressing food soverienty in a region that is plagued with food deserts.

Black Migrations + Diasporas

Recognizing, acknowledging, and understanding past migrations provides opportunities to visualize a throughline of Black America's monumental efforts in search of a better life. This movement yields a mapping of Black Narratives to visualize new ones.

Phase II

Building upon the groundwork laid in Phase One, Phase Two unfolds in the subsequent years, offering more developed and enriched spaces for attendees to engage with the corridor. These spaces, while accessible and welcoming, delve deeper into the logistical and cultural experience of the reunion.

Rural Patch: Domestic Tent

These tents provide more than just a shelter; they embody the spirit of Black domesticity, community, and kinship. Nestled throughout the corridor, the tents serve as sanctuaries of warmth and belonging - offering a space for extended families to come together and reconnect.

Rural Patch: Re-imagining Abondonment

Once forgotten relics of neglect, these spaces serve as a powerful symbol of revival and renewal. These spaces are the container of so many untold stories. This proposal echoes these stories of struggle and triumph that define the heritage throughout the corridor. These spaces honor the past, embrace the present, and promote a future of possibility and promise.

Rural Patch: Cultural Bike + Walking Trails

These trails weave through the landscape and network that is created by the reunion. The trails consist of winding paths that symbolizing the walking in the footsteps of ancestors, retracing the paths they once traveled in search of freedom, opportunity, and community.

Rural Patch: Sculptural Fields

This venue speaks to the process of reconciliation and reclamation. The sculptures stand as a testament to resilience, creativity, and strength of Black ancestors whose labor shaped the historic fabric and lands of this region. This space is also more than one of reflection. It also serves as a space of celebration, triumph and empowerment.

The Corridor of Shame

The corridor of shame, a term emphasized by President Obama, marks a visible scar of disparity, bounded by Interstate95. The corridor primarily occupies South Carolina, impacting marginalized rural communities in the southeastern U.S. Median housing values strike a starkreality to forgotten communities of the corridor. Allendale, a majority Blackcounty has the lowest housing values within the corridor of $66,520. Comparedto Greenville and Charleston with housing values doubling and even triplingmost housing values found in the corridor.

Phase III

Entering Phase III, the reunion ascends to greater heights, embracing the idea of limitless potential, boundless possibilities, and abundant opportunities. This advanced stage, unfolding in the later years of the annual event is dedicated to materializeing innovatige and transformative spaces that not only empower attenddes but also breathe new life into the region, fostering vitality and rejuventation.

Rural Patch: Reflection Tower

Perched amidst the historic Corridor, these towers serve as beacons of remembrance and reflection for individuals with roots in the regions. The towers signify a space for pause and reflection while guiding reunion goers as they navigate through the series of rural patches.

Rural Patch: Kinetic Multipurpose Space

These venues, situated throughout the corridor, represent innovative multipurpose spaces that harnesses the power of movement and energy to create dynamic and transformative experiences. These spaces represent a symbol of innovation and progress where individuals can dream big, and embrace the power of movement in enabling endless possibilities.

Rural Patch: Living Room Conversation Stands

"Beginning with the idea of a world of unlimited freedom where space, and in particular living space, could be designed solely in relation to "desire," I greatly wanted most to move away from concrete "political realities, such as class, and just dream."

- bell hooks, Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice, 1995

Rural Patch: Cookout in the Woods

The woods, once a sanctuary for Black ancestors seeking refuge and solace, now will serve as the backdrop for gathering. Amidst the towering trees, rustling leaves and dappled sunlight the cookout is a venue celebrating the importance of coming together as a community, supporting and uplifiting one another.