Jason Fisher, ARC 2001 and M.Arch 2004, and his Content Design Group partner Greg Beere found themselves looking critically at the current development in the urban areas of Jacksonville, so they decided to put their talents where their mouths were.
The existing building at 11 Ocean Street in Jacksonville.
In April, the partners started the Urban Facelift Project, a series of visualizations aimed to show the public what existing Jacksonville buildings could look like with just a little care and attention.
“We came to realize that it is very easy to be critical of our community, yet do nothing to promote any kind of change,” Fisher said.
And so the Urban Facelift Project was born.
The suggested facelift for the Ocean Street building.
Fisher and Beere photograph vacant or decaying buildings that they think have potential. They then use a program called Sketchup to modify the building’s appearance. Even though they are working on a virtual project, they try to make the “facelifts” as cost effective as possible, focusing on things like paint colors, signage, awnings and landscape. They allot less than four hours for each building and when completed, the projects are featured on both their Web site and Facebook page.
While they are not at the point where they can buy numerous buildings and implement the suggested changes on their own, the partners hope to have an impact on others.
“Our main goal for UFP is to show the owners of these dilapidated buildings and the surrounding community that there is great potential for these eyesores to become nice thoughtful structures for the neighborhood, for relatively small amounts of money,” Fisher said.
The existing building on 53 Union Street.
The suggested facelift for the Union street building.
The long-term goal for the project is to get the community involved.
“We would love to see local residents choose a building and do their own facelift, not just architects and designers, but anyone with a desire to be a part of the project,” Fisher said.
For more information about the Urban Facelift Project, visit their Web site at: http://www.contentdg.com/urban-facelift-project-9-0-union-street.
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