Reprinted from Washington State Magazine April 2008: Meditations on a strip mall

David Wang

by David Wang

Why has architecture become an exercise in stage set building?

ON THE PRAIRIE WHERE I LIVE arises a strip mall. It looks like it belongs on the French Riviera: turrets and arches, awnings, balconies with wrought iron railings”¦

Well, I”'ve never been to the French Riviera, but in this ignorance is my point.

The everyday buildings we build around us want to be anything but everyday. They want to be stage sets of Somewhere Else. And their proliferation seems to suggest that everywhere we Americans go, we want to be Somewhere Else. Getting up in the morning on the Moran Prairie, where the deer and the antelope used to roam, we have our cereal, and then we must drive by Something Mediterranean on our way to Washington State University”'s Riverpoint campus in Spokane.

It is an irony that the hot topic in teaching architectural theory these days is “sense of place.” Faculty write about it. Students stress over it. Academic conferences are held on it. What is “sense of place,” or it”'s near cousin: “sense of community?” Whatever these mysterious substances are, search the history of architecture, and you”'ll find that past cultures did not fret about these matters.… Read the rest “Reprinted from Washington State Magazine April 2008: Meditations on a strip mall”

Banyan Community Neighborhood Center Opens

Banyan Community held a Ribbon Cutting ceremony with many donors and neighborhood families for a new home on Thursday, August 18, 2016 ”“ a prototype space for holistic community development with 18 years of proven outcomes! It is a 30,000 square foot two story wood frame building with a precast basement. The ceremony was a historic moment in Banyan”'s story of developing youth, strengthening families, and creating community. Banyan Community is now poised to grow and partner with more youth and families, doubling in size over the next five years!

BY BANYAN COMMUNITY STAFF

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for new fully funded $6.4M home

of Banyan Community was August 18^th. “This is a historic moment in Banyan”'s story: a one of a kind, permanent home that will allow us to double the youth and families we partner with in the Phillips neighborhood,” says Joani Essenburg, Co-Founder and Executive Director.

Banyan has been creating transformation in the Phillips neighborhood since 1998. Youth and families are building new pathways as 100 % of Banyan high school youth graduate and are accepted to college! “The building is a prototype for our approach to holistic community development, one with a long history of success and proven outcomes”, says Essenburg.… Read the rest “Banyan Community Neighborhood Center Opens”