Process:

Community-Oriented Design and Process: 

Throughout our entire process, we wanted to focus everything on the community, since we are considering creating an installation that reflects the community history in the community. We were able to involve a community member, Terri Baltimore, in our design processes by scheduling an interview with her to review our concept. We also spoke to her about how we would move forward if we were going to implement the project, and what she and the community would want from the project. From our conversation with her, we realized the project should be completely community initiated and driven. 

Heart Design: 

We chose the heart as the middle-point of my design so that it could represent the “heart/will of the community,” and be the unifying center of the design while the roots (which would be represented by lights) coming out of the heart could represent the communities growth and stories of the displaced individuals in the community. The roots would signify the positive change that is growing from within the community and then expanding, to the four or more tiles which would showcase a remembrance of key locations, that would show the resident's story and lifestyle. With the design of the heart and light installation, we decided to make the center (the heart) spray painted while having the lights either hang from existing poles or have rechargeable light emitting photocells that would be put into the concrete. We also thought that this would have a greater contrast than having the heart also be made of lights.