While working at Quinn Evans I had the opportunity to lead a partnership with Mission Throttle a social impact strategy firm in Detroit to aid a local non-profit organization to re-program and optimize their space use strategy. This volunteer opportunity allowed members of Quinn Evans to engage with the local non-profit, learn their needs and desires for a revitalized space as well as try and impart new revenue models that Mission Throttle had researched to allow financial autonomy from grant writing for the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC). Leading the architecture design of the project as well as the engagement with DHDC was a welcome opportunity to provide valuable architecture services to a client that could greatly benefit from the creative process.  

The final design schemes for the DHDC were influenced by several common characteristics that came from the feedback from the DHDC staff on the design slam design proposals. Noise separation between programs seemed paramount, grouping louder activities with other loud activities and combining contemplative, focused spaces with one another. Since the educational, mentorship and advisory programs vary throughout the year it became quite clear that any design proposal would need to be flexible to meet the needs of the DHDC. The design team became fascinated with how dynamic the activity of  building changes not only through the day, but throughout the week and year. Planning for this changing cycle of activities helped shaped the organization of some of the public spaces of the buildings as well as provide flexible classroom spaces and conferencing for the DHDC to meet the demands of the educational programming as well as staff needs.