This is Part 2 of a 10 Part Series, derived from my lecture at the Boston Architectural College Student Lecture Series “Just Futures”. My lecture was titled “The Power of Interior Design to Impact Positive Futures for People and Communities”. My message was that Interior Design has the power and responsibility to positively impact people, communities and their futures, that this can only be achieved through an equitable and inclusive design process, and that positive outcomes for people and communities are the measure of a successful design. I shared this message through stories of our partnerships with our clients and their communities. This is the story of BODEGA MAKEOVER
This is the story of STA’s smallest project, both in size (300 sf), and in fee ($0!). The project is Bodega Makeover, and it’s the vision of an amazing woman – Evelyn Brito. Evelyn’s mission is to raise awareness, and help solve, the food desert issue in lower income communities by renovating one bodega at a time, and telling the story. The term “food deserts” refers to the fact that there is a lack of healthy food available in lower income communities, this is a well documented fact. I recently heard a horrifying fact – There is about a 23-year difference in life expectancy between people living in part of Back Bay, where life expectancy is 91.6 years, and people living in part of Roxbury, where life expectancy is 68.8 years. Access to healthy food is one of the key factors in health equity.
Evelyn’s idea was to renovate a bodega, and do it Extreme Home Makeover style – if you know that show, they take a house, and miraculously in one week design and renovate the thing. Well this was the concept for Vega brothers, and we were the pilot episode!
Being involved in a professional video was a super cool process – lights, camera, makeup – the whole deal! The folks at Anawan Productions made it easy! (You can still find the episode on Prime!). But that was not the best part of the experience – the best part was interacting with the community, and designing something that had IMPACT.
When we first started the project, we visited the existing bodega. We found that it was crowded and unwelcoming. The shelves were filled top to bottom with junk food. We talked to the new owners about ideas for how to improve the space, like lowering the shelves, opening it up, bringing in color. We worked with them to evaluate what they were selling, and what had priority on the shelves.
The most important part of the process was a block party that was scheduled to introduce and celebrate the idea with the community surrounding the bodega. The day was filled with dancing, food, music, and most importantly a chance to meet the community and gather their feedback. Until this point we had only been talking with the owners, and sharing some of our ideas with them. But it was not until we heard from the community that we felt we really knew what the needs and hopes were. We brought an empty board and sticky notes, and asked everyone to share their ideas. Person after person placed their sticky notes, with a similar message – “bring us healthier food”, “get rid of cigarettes” – this was totally in line with what we were planning, but it was so important to hear it from them.
While we were there, we saw a teenager who was using a wheelchair approach the bodega front door – he looked inside, but he didn’t go in. A bit later, a woman came up to me and said that she wanted out of the renovation was for her son to be able to go to the bodega, to be able to be a part of the community. This was the teenager’s Mom.
We of course were thinking about and planning for accessibility in the design, but seeing someone from the community who could not use the space made it real, made it human.
The space was renovated, during Covid time, and there were challenges with funding and resources, so it does not come out exactly as designed. But that’s OK, because the important things happened – a beautiful fruit and vegetable display is the first thing you see, the space is comfortable and welcoming, a local artist creating gorgeous murals, and the shelves were lowered and aisles were widened for all to access and experience.
The community asked, and was listened to, and created the space they wanted and needed. 300 sf of change and impact for the community!
If we have any part of the community having access to healthy food, bringing the bodega back as the center of a neighborhood, and most importantly, making so that one young man can enjoy the bodega and meet his neighbors, I count that as a design success
