The ASID Texas Chapter is proud to announce the Austin Design Community’s service project for the new 57,000 SF facility for The Salvation Army Rathgeber Center for Families in Austin has won the very prestigious 2021 ASID National Chapter Community Service Award. Judged on a nation-wide scale against all other ASID Chapters, there is only one winner per year for this category.

This impressive two-phase, two-year project had 14 committee project manager/designers from ASID, including three from The Salvation Army. They coordinated 30 design teams with 45 assistants, which included ASID Students and 355 donors comprised of ASID Industry Partners and community merchants, businesses and designers.

The ASID Coordinating Committee members included: Cody Rackley, Allied ASID; Stephanie Swedlund, Allied ASID; Jane Garland Lucas, FASID, ASID Lifetime Member; Bryann Agajanian and Maria Rosiere, ASID student members from The Art Institute of Austin; Carlisle Bolger, Allied ASID; Joe Walsh, ASID IP Representative with Simply-Sold; Karla Urbina, ASID IP Representative with Tri-Supply; Sandy Weatherford with Design Home and Decor magazine; Todd Carlstrand, ASID IP Representative with QDI Surfaces; and Nevena Nance, ASID IP Representative with Martel Windows and Doors LLC. The coordinating Committee Members with The Salvation Army included Lt. Colonel Dorris Gonzalez, Major Amy Kelly, and Major Jacqueline Reckline.

The ASID Texas Chapter Austin Design Community and The Salvation Army Austin Area Command have partnered since 2013 on several shelter projects, providing facelifts and new facilities serving the area's homeless population. This unique synergy of design and service recently completed 57,000 SF within the new Rathgeber Center for Families.

Phase 1 accommodates 212 beds and provides temporary shelter, food and services for 664 adults and 434 children every year, with the formal celebration of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony June 6, 2019.

Phase 2 launched with additional 23 family extended stay suites in 2020, welcoming families working hard to put homelessness behind them. A pandemic-approved social distancing Open House was held August 20-21, 2020.
 
As the only Salvation Army facility like this in the country, ASID Designers, Student Chapters and Industry Partners donated their time, skills, resources, products and funds to create community living rooms, bedrooms, classrooms, offices, conference spaces, dining hall, commercial kitchen, playground in Phase 1 and 23 two-bedroom units complete with their own living rooms, dining areas, kitchens and bathrooms in Phase 2. Common areas and corridors linked both phases with a Texas theme, combining the bluebonnets, yellow rose of Texas and red paintbrush wild flowers with words of hope and inspiration, all to create a “new place called home”.
 
The development of the Texas wild flower theme enhances the common areas with artistic murals and provides way-finding opportunities through the definition of the red, blue and yellow wings of Phase 1. Each wing was designed by an ASID member team, which called on local students, committee and IP members to not only secure products and donations, but to paint and install furniture, art, accessories, area rugs and carpet tiles.

These three wings share a common living space and have bedrooms with four to 12 beds, each with a private bathroom. A community dining hall functions as a gathering and meeting space, common laundry facilities and a clothing “Dress for Success” closet are provided. Two large classrooms have been designed to include group instructional space and individual study, with screens, monitors, computers to aide learning new skills and finding new resources and employment.

The office area includes private offices for the director, assistant director facility, food service and housing managers, six case workers and a therapist, as well as a conference room, staff lounge, reception office and public arrival area. For Phase 1, over $700,000 dollars in services and products were provided by the ASID teams.

Phase 2 carries the Texas wild flower theme in the corridors, and engaged 16 design teams to complete the design and implementation of the 23 extended stay units, each one being unique in style and décor. These design teams created the ideas, painted, fabricated and installed the interiors. They found resources, furniture, lighting, rugs, art, accessories, books and toys, bedding, towels, dining service, kitchen counter top equipment, pots and pans, closet, bathroom and cleaning supplies to allow a family to move right in.

Kudos to all the members of the ASID Texas Chapter Austin Design Community for working so incredibly hard and sharing their valuable time and talents!