Community Wish Comes True

“Community Wish” is an architectural installation assembled onsite at the 2022 Richmond Folk Festival addressing urban environmental needs in support of Venture Richmond’s Brown’s Island Improvement Plan, which was approved by the City of Richmond Planning Commission in 2019. Always looking to support the City and its partners, the team at Hanbury was eager to create a temporary intervention to improve amenities, attractiveness, and comfort for Richmond residents and visitors helping Brown’s Island realize its potential to be the crown jewel of the downtown riverfront. 

As part of Richmond’s Folk Music Festival – one of the most popular events in Virginia welcoming thousands of visitors from around the country – the installation is an opportunity to engage the community in envisioning the “Community Wish” project. This experiential project was led by Venture Richmond and Hanbury Community Design Lab to create a public structure on the 60’ diameter, onsite concrete pad offering shading, seating, and space for community gatherings. 

This installation – organized by AIA RVA YAF, designed and led by YAF member An Liu (Hanbury), built by volunteers, and funded by the AIA College of Fellows’ 2022 Component Grant – presents a meaningful collaboration among non-profit leaders, architects, graphic designers, and community helpers. It is an experiment of deconstructable design that highlights the interplay between humans and the natural world and the impact each person can have in responding to their surrounding environments.

Employing 4”x4” spacing galvanized fence, the design creates a reconfigurable framework of different formats to meet community needs. This includes, but is not limited to, a community pavilion, furniture, posters, a flag, drawings, and a space for gathering, sharing, connecting, observation, etc. The structure is built with modular components which can be relocated and reused for other projects to meet evolving community needs. 

We hope this project provides a space for you and your wishes. Our hope is that this project empowers you to improve your community spaces. 

Great Thanks to (in alphabetical order):

• AIA College of Fellows 
• AIA Richmond 
• AIA RVA YAF 
• Community Helpers
• Hanbury Community Design Lab 
• Public Art Commission
• Richmond Community ToolBank 
• Somehow Something
• Venture Richmond