Ward 7 Facade Improvement Program

The Ward 7 Facade Improvement Program is a federally-funded incentive program developed by the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) which seeks to enable local small-business owners to improve not only their business prospects but the quality of life in their community through grant partnerships dedicated to design and construction.  Each owner who commits seed funding is met with matching grants through DCHD which are committed to making improvements to the businesses’ exterior facades.  A design collaboration between E/L STUDIO and KUBE is established with a common role, to work with each contributing business owner to envision their future, to strengthen their communities future, and to translate this vision into tangible physical improvements.  We work towards the goal of creating through these design partnerships, the atmosphere which will foster the desires of not only the individual owner but the community at large.  From walking the neighborhood to spread awareness of this program, to community design workshops and on-site meetings with individual owners, outreach and communication are fundamental in assisting store owners to better understand the workings of their urban business environment.  In particular, our aim is to cultivate the rich history and culture of the people embedded in this vital part of the city may find its expression through the built environment. Through the animation of the street fabric, new opportunities will arise to inhabit and experience this community’s diverse ethos.  Fundamental to this goal is the creation of an active and friendly pedestrian environment where public space is provided for circulation and movement in tandem with gathering and interaction. Through the use of materials both durable and sustainable, connections between interior and exterior space and relationships between the pedestrian and local merchants can be enhanced.  Interventions have included new and more legible signage, more dynamic lighting which improves way-finding as well as security, new openings in the building envelope for improved transparency and new street furniture which incorporates plantings to create ‘breathable’ seating areas shielded from traffic