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Building - Planning - Teaching - Research - Recognition
The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, which is embedded in Biloxi, Mississippi, is a research arm of Mississippi State University's School of Architecture, Art + Design. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the GCCDS worked with members of the East Biloxi community on the ground, providing early damage assessment maps, then planning assistance, and eventually design services. Coordinating closely with various organizations that provide funding, case management, and volunteer construction labor, GCCDS provides design assistance to individuals from low income households that need help to rebuild. Since Katrina struck in August of 2005, over 80 homes in East Biloxi alone (both rehabilitations and new construction) have been completed through the work of the GCCDS.
The projects are designed through close relationships with the residents, and the work is very much about preserving the dignity of individuals faced with unimaginable hardships.
GCCDS's work now encompasses larger scale projects addressing the need for housing and community services. GCCDS is working with the East Biloxi Coordination, Relief, and Redevelopment Agency to identify sites for multi-unit housing and mixed-use developments. The studio has also designed a health clinic in D'Iberville, is working in Hancock County and with the City of Moss Point on planning and housing efforts, and is developing design and construction practices focused on increasing sustainability. The common aspects of the work at every scale are a commitment to citizen participation and an effort to rebuild diverse and complete cities and to preserve and restore the unique natural and cultural resources along the coast.
Completed: A house for Mary P in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction: A house for Thelma in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Completed: A house for Flora, in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction: A house for Debra in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Completed: A house for Lendell in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Planning: Oak Street Community Development
Under Construction: A house for Mark in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction: A house for Dinecha in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Completed: A house for Juanita in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Completed: A house for Inez in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Completed: A new house for Edward in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi Studio information and registration
Completed : A new house for Marvin in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
Under Construction: A house for Patty in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction: A house for Myra in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction : A new house for Chris in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
East Biloxi Housing Assessment
Teaching: Pennslyvania State University, Fall 2006
East Biloxi Library and Community Center
Completed: A house for Sherry in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction: A house for Mae Bell in East Biloxi, Mississippi
Under Construction : John Henry Beck Park in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
Under Construction: A new house for Alvin
Under Construction: A rehab of Janice's home
Research: Gulf Coast Housing Demonstration Center
Under Construction: A rehab of Ethel's home
Teaching: Spring 2007
Under Construction: A new house for Lonnie
Under Construction: A rehab of Terry's home
Completed: A rehab of Sal and Linda's home
Completed : A new house for Patience in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
Completed : A new house for Cora in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
Completed : A new house for Lee in East Biloxi, Mississippi.
Completed : The East Biloxi Coordination Relief & Redevelopment Agency which is also the home of the Gulf Coast Community Design Center
News
April 14, 2008. GCCDS and the Institute for Sustainable Communities announce summer fellowship. The program will be a ten-week summer internship addressing community planning and design on the Gulf Coast. Click here for more information. Applications are due Thursday, May 1.
April 11, 2008. GCCDS Open House for Mississippi Architecture Week. Several GCCDS houses will be open to the public today between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. Maps are available at the office in Biloxi, or here. All are invited to a reception and exhibit at the Hope Coordination Center at 5:00.
March 30, 2008. Work of GCCDS featured in Berlin exhibit. An Architektur, a Berlin, Germany gallery has included the work of GCCDS in the exhibit, Community Design: Involvement and Architecture in the US Since 1963, on view from March 30 - April 20, 2008. For more information.
March 24, 2008. GCCDS to host Biloxi Open House for Mississippi Architecture Week. The Mississippi chapter of the American Institute of Architects has selected GCCDS to participate in this weekong celebration of local architecture. All are invited to attend. See press release.
March 5, 2008. GCCDS featured on WLOX News. See the story here.
February 27, 2008. Rose Fellowship announces opportunity to work with GCCDS. Applications and additional information for the 3-year architectural fellowship program can be found here.
February 25, 2008. GCCDS, Hope Coordination Center, and AFH featured in Strategy + Business magazine. "A community center founded in Hurricane Katrina’s wake shows how megacommunity efforts can bring people the help they need to rebuild." See PDF here.
February 22, 2008. Mississippi Development Authority recommends GCCDS for HUD funding. The funds would allow GCCDS to continue to provide community planning and design for Gulf Coast communities. See press release.
February 14, 2008. GCCDS to provide planning and predevelopment design services for the Gulf Coast Housing Resource Network, with a grant funded by the Knight Foundation.
February 13, 2008. David Perkes speaks at Rural Studio.
January 27, 2008. MIT urban planning students visit Biloxi. Kicking off the collaboration between the Biloxi spring studio and MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, the two groups spent the week conducting site analysis and making preliminary proposals. Read more at the studio blog.
January 1, 2008. GCCDS opens its second location! Working in partnership with the Hancock Housing Resource Center, GCCDS has opened a branch studio in Bay St. Louis, to better serve clients in Hancock County.
November 7, 2007. Blitz Build Two is underway! Building on the success of the first Blitz Build, the EBCRRA, GCCDS, and various volunteer groups have kicked off a framing blitz in East Biloxi.
October 17 & 19, 2007. James Wheeler gives two talks in Minneapolis, MN, entitled Design Down River: The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio. October 17th, James will speak at the University of Minnesota College of Design, and the 19th at Twin Cities Solution, Volume 2.
October 3, 2007. Blitz Build House is Dedicated! Completed on schedule, in only two weeks, the Blitz Build House is finished and occupied.
September 19, 2007. Blitz Build 2007 Is Underway. GCCDS, EBCRRA, Hope Force and Hands On join forces to build a house in only two weeks! This effort will be a model for stream-lining future construction projects.
August 29, 2007. Robert Ivy, editor of Architectural Record, visits GCCDS in Biloxi. “Staffed by an enthusiastic coterie of young architects from across the country, they are working night and day to get people back in their houses. So far, the design studio and Architecture for Humanity have helped more than 60 projects to completion, whether new houses or rehabs. They should get a medal." Read more...
August 13, 2007. GIS professionals donate time, materials to GCCDS. GIS Corps, which brings GIS professionals to areas that require humanitarian relief or community development, is sending David Allen of Euless, Texas with GCCDS for a 4-day training in the use of GIS mapping software. In preparation for this event, David has worked with ESRI and South Central Arc User Group, both of whom have made generous donations of GIS training manuals to GCCDS.
June 11, 2007. A Summer Design/Build Studio is underway in East Biloxi. The Studio, under the direction of Brian Bell, Brad Guy, and Sergio Palleroni, has begun work on an elevated home for one of our East Biloxi residents.
June 4, 2007. Bill Stallworth, Director of the East Biloxi Coordination and Relief Center, presented the work of the Center and the GCCDS to architects, community designers, and planners at the Great Gumbo/Association for Community Design (ACD) Conference in Baton Rouge.
May 5, 2007. The AIA Gulf States Region awarded the work of the The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio with an Honor Citation. View a PDF of the press release.
April 20, 2007.GCCDS has moved into our new building at 425 Division Street along with our partners and officemates: the East Biloxi Coordination, Relief & Redevelopment Agency; Architecture for Humanity; Hope Force International; the National Association of Vietnamese-American Service Agencies; and Compassion First-BFS.
Partnerships
American Institute of Architects Mississippi
Architecture for Humanity
Apostolic Christian World Relief
Auburn University
Back Bay Mission
Biloxi Housing Authority
Black Rock Engineering
Boston Architectural College
Carl Small Town Center
The City of Biloxi
The City of Moss Point
Compassion First - BFS Relief
Design Corps
East Biloxi Coordination, Relief & Redevelopment Agency
ESRI
GISCorps
Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia
Hancock Housing Resource Center
Hands On Gulf Coast
Hope Force International
HUD’s Universities Rebuilding America
Partnership
Institute for Sustainable Communities
Knight Foundation
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Mercy Housing & Human Development
Mississippi State University
Mississippi Center for Justice
Mississippi AIA
MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning
MSU College of Architecture, Art + Design
NAVASA
North Gulfport Community Land Trust
Presbyterian Disaster Relief
Renaissance Corporation
The Salvation Army
Samaritan's Purse
Small Business Administration
South Central Arc User Group
State of Mississippi
University of Minnesota
Urban Life Ministries
Warnke Community Consulting
Youth Build
