Following last week’s look at an opening for an Architect/Designer at Build Block, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Landscape Designer at the Better Block Foundation.
The role, based in Dallas, TX, “goes beyond the conventional office setting, requiring a genuine commitment to hands-on, physical work in the field,” according to the company. Among the responsibilities will be delivering site design and presentation materials, material sourcing and ordering, construction documents, and potential public speaking and development roles. “The Landscape Designer should be passionate about new urbanism and willing to swing a hammer, get paint on his/her clothing, answer volunteers’ questions, etc.,” the company adds. “This position is very hands-on.”
Why the role interests us
The role at the Better Block Foundation offers us the opportunity to explore the work of a nonprofit dedicated to open-source, participatory urban design and placemaking. Founded by artist and activist Jason Roberts, the company describes its aim as partly to “develop open-source media to help cities, community groups, and emerging leaders create rapid prototyping,” and to “create new and improve existing modeling tools through experimentation with innovative technologies and scientific solutions.”
To create their neighborhood public projects, the nonprofit has developed processes ranging from 90 to 120 days, and composed of five to six phases. The team begins by working with community members to select an impactful site for reimagining, before undertaking an engagement process encompassing neighbors, councilors, small business owners, and more, addressing topics from public art to volunteer recruitment.
Following the engagement and survey steps, a rapid design development process culminates in a build process that can take as little as one week. According to the team, the build process is “often in the shape of a block party, when our team of designers lead workshops with community members, putting paint roller and the power of making an immediate and needed change in back in the community's hands.” The project culminates with responsibilities and resources passed back to the community alongside a route to permanency mapped out in the company’s report.
Alongside their phased process for urban design, which has so far included parklets and community spaces from San Antonio to Detroit, the nonprofit has developed ‘Wikiblock’, described as “an open-source design library for building better blocks. Design files, including benches, chairs, planters, bus stops, and beer gardens, can be downloaded for free, after which a CNC router can cut them out from a sheet of plywood to be assembled, in most cases, without glue or nails.
"We want to be able to create tools and resources for someone who wants to make a change in their community, but doesn't know where to begin,” the nonprofit’s founder Jason Roberts notes. “Those tools assembled collectively with other neighbors would be used to enhance engagement while demonstrating concepts that would improve the built environment.”
Further reading for interested candidates
Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer series profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.
1 Comment
Very fun and lovely work!
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.