2023 Best Small Practice Southeast

2023 NC Firm of the Year

West – Park Yourself

Collaborators

Madeleine Cole, Hawraa Hasan, Kona Peterson, Sahar Teymouri 

[n] bench – an equitable city asset that contributes to comfortable accessibility within the urban fabric. It facilitates a language of public, space, and inclusivity. It is paramount to houselessness.


Park Yourself addresses the issue of houselessness in the Warehouse District through wayfinding intervention. The proximity to city resources directly correlates with several city stressors like public space and houselessness in a way that creates barriers within the city. Nash Square acts as anchor within the houseless community, given its proximity to shelters and greenspace, in which the surrounding privatized space hinders activity. The concept of the “bench” is to implement tactical urbanism in the Warehouse District to promote community engagement, informational wayfinding, and connected systems of services.