Behind the Vision: Community Reuse of Items from the Center for Architecture & Design
The partner organizations of the Center for Architecture & Design (CfAD) have been preparing to exit our shared space for multiple years, and the decommissioning at 1010 Western is nearly complete. As the needs of each partner organization’s space have evolved over time, our values have remained steadfast, including our shared belief in responsible reuse.
With appreciation for the many committed and dedicated volunteers of multiple organizations who came together to open the Center, it is fitting that all of the items so thoughtfully procured have found new homes, with mission aligned nonprofit and community organizations whose stakeholders will enjoy years of additional use.
We are building not only this space, but a vibrant and hopeful community. Many of the Cherry Street Village community organizations cannot afford space elsewhere or on their own. The items from CfAD will be used in our classroom and meeting spaces, for movie viewings, and community gatherings. These items are of a quality and value beyond what we could purchase, and will have many years of use by all who gather in the Village. – Samia El-Moslimany
Pictured: Longtime Cherry Street volunteer Samia, whose parents Ann Paxton and Mohammad El-Moslimany spent much time and treasure supporting the space, with Lazina Chaudhry, who attended the Islamic School of Seattle as an elementary school student in the early 1990s.
Beyond donations, CfAD partners have worked to decommission materials from the space with many of the vendors who performed the original install. The donor wall, promised as a benefit for the first five years of occupancy to generous donors who made the opening of CfAD possible, is an example. All materials are having branding removed and will be reused for other projects.
