DESIGN LEADERSHIP COMPETITION
Our proposal is not a building, it’s a place. We started our project by meeting the community, talking with the residents, and asking “what does South Dallas need?” The answer was elegantly rendered to us through an unlikely candidate—a car wash. Jim’s Car Wash is, according to Sergeant McCoy, “the heart of South Dallas”, yet it is perceived as a blight providing a haven for crime, prostitution, and vagrants.
Even though it is not without blemish, Jim’s Car Wash poetically solves four problems which are plaguing the community. First, South Dallas residents have a hard time connecting with each other. Community members avoid acknowledging or speaking with strangers, even if those strangers are their neighbors. Jim’s provides a safe place to ‘chill’; it’s a forum for different ideas and a hub for chance encounters. Second, the car wash is a business. Local entrepreneurs, especially those in a lower socioeconomic bracket, can wash, vendor goods, or cook to earn extra money. Third, Jim’s Wash is a place to see and be seen. Patrons can loiter and people / car watch; or they can flaunt their fresh ride. It is conveniently located and provides excitement, a rare commodity in the area. Finally, the Car Wash is controlled by the community. Unlike Fairpark Jim’s is regulated by its users, an attribute which makes it more popular to the locals than a Ferris wheel.
We believe South Dallas needs more places like Jim’s Car Wash, “third places”. These zones between ‘home’ and ‘work’ will be “anchors” for community life. They will provide: a place to ‘chill’ or sit, a ‘service’ so the community has a reason to go there, and an un-programmed but user defined sheltered space so the community can reappropriate the place as they see fit. These spaces might be a laundry mat with a large amount of clear floor area and a park bench, or a barber shop with a bench under an awning. It could be a paved empty lot with outdoor speakers, as small stage and uniquely colored lights. These anchors can merge together into larger colonies or act as satellites. They can infill blight or rejuvenate vacancy.
