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How might we restore vibrancy in cities and regions facing economic decline? Read the challenge brief

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, change catalyst, community voice, for profit- nonprofit partnerships, international awareness, local labor, local materials, restore, sustainable furniture, wood

Concept
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Urban Touch

Urban touch is a venture that focuses on locally produced, sourced, and inspired wooden furniture and functional wooden pieces using reclaimed trees from deserted urban environments. The pilot program will open in Detroit, Michigan. Urban touch will secure materials and employ local craftsmen and skilled workers to run a specialty wood-shop that produces unique products representative of the core of Detroit. Utilizing empty factories, Urban Touch will put people back to work, reclaiming their sense of place as they transform abandoned stumps and logs into functional products. The products will be sold through Steelcase's global network, placed in public locations, and provide a sense of Detroit’s past and future. Impact: • Community Pride • Employment • Recognition of change • Cleaned-up urban environment By creating something beautiful, something useful, and something uniquely representative of the worlds once-thriving urban areas, the sense of revitalization will be sparked.
The inspiration for this concept comes from the Urban Tree Forge, based in Pittsburgh, PA.  

Pittsburgh is a city that has recently been held up at the example of the complete re-direction and re-vitalization of a past industrial heavyweight that suffered a major decline in industry.  

By providing work for local skilled labor, allowing for creativity in their work, and filling up once-empty factory spaces, the vibrancy and local pride of their city will be restored.  Urban Touch will allow the "Average-Joes" of cities all over the world to signal their intent to change; bring back their homes back to life.

Pittsburgh has pulled off a transformation that most do not even believe when they come back and see it.  Urban Touch can be the catalyst for similar creative, unique change in cities all over the world.  

What resources (money, time, people, technology, etc) will your concept need to be successful?

This concept needs agreements between local government and Steelcase Inc., start-up funds to secure local work space, wood-working equipment, and materials, and a mass-marketing campaign to let the world know that this transformation is occurring.

To be successful a modest goal of 100 local employees during the first year of operation is set.

Depending on the agreement between Steelcase, the local government, and the local pilot-project employees, additional funds may be needed to support salaries until consistent revenue is achieved.

How can your idea be scaled so that it's implemented in cities around the world?

This idea can be taken and transplanted in any major city in the world. The beauty behind the idea is that each city has a unique history and story to tell, and with each additional city added to the project, the collective group of Urban Touch projects will grow in awareness and solidarity.

Comments

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Michael Kwolek

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December 09, 2011, 07:26PM
I like the idea of reclaiming what has been abandoned to create something both inspiring and functional. People have become increasingly responsive to products with a story. It would be interesting to convey the story of the area from which the materials were reclaimed within the design and marketing of Urban Touch products.

Also, would it be possible to go one step further and use building materials from abandoned/condemned structures to create new pieces? One assumes there is a huge inventory of wood that could be reused, especially materials with evidence of previous use - paint, carvings, etc. - that indicate past function and tell a story. I suppose hazardous materials issues abound (asbestos, lead paint, etc.), but if there was a way to safely reclaim materials, it could mean a huge new and inexpensive raw materials source that would also somewhat mitigate the city's waste disposal issues.
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Robert Gradoville's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Robert Gradoville

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December 10, 2011, 04:20AM
Exactly - the furniture or artwork would be a physical story, a message from the dark days of Detroit looking forward into what can and will be.

I LOVE the idea of using other building materials, but I think beyond wooden pieces, it might take away from the easily understood vision of abandoned stumps becoming furniture and art. Those other materials would be perfect for the idea Reclaimed in Detroit!

Trash-to-treasures! I am a fan and I think that is a great idea as well.
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Szilvia Varga's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Szilvia Varga

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December 10, 2011, 04:08PM
I think it's okay to start small with only wooden materials. Then if the business works well you can always look into extending to other materials. One thing that would get me interested would be refurbished lamps... I live in Sweden where it's quite dark these days so people put out their tiny lamps - many into the windows. But my problem is everyone has the same thing, or one out of three designs. So it would be really cool to have something different and I bet something refurbished would be very different from what they sell in shops these days.

What do you think?
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Ali Gibran

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December 10, 2011, 04:01AM
Perhaps focus on crude design of products by highlighting the imperfections may help carve a niche for your furniture and may also lend an artistic trademark to your work.
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Robert Gradoville's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Robert Gradoville

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December 10, 2011, 04:23AM
Right - the imperfections and "battle scars" that some of these wooden pieces might have are the points that will be highlighted in the furniture and artwork. The point is to express the transformation from damaged and forgotten into vibrant, active, and productive. Thanks for the suggestion I think its a great one.
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Szilvia Varga's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Szilvia Varga

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December 10, 2011, 04:04PM
How about if they created a story for each product, so 'This chair is made out of recycled wood that used to form a cupboard since the early 1980s. It was colored blue and was used by a family with three kids and bears the marks of the youngest one of them crashing into it with his tricycle'.

I know it would perhaps be really tricky to track down the real stories but would be so cool! Worst case they could create fake stories that could be real...

What do you think? (I'd so buy a chair with a story....)
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Szilvia Varga

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December 09, 2011, 09:46AM
Nice! I think this initiative would be so much more powerful if it engaged volunteers as well. So how about if you also involved them? The skilled workers could train these volunteers who could either help out in Urban Touch or sort of expand it and grow it in local communities.

What do you think?
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Robert Gradoville's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Robert Gradoville

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December 10, 2011, 04:16AM
Thanks Szilvia! That is actually exactly what I had in mind, but as I am a newbie to adding concepts, I apparently typed way too much in the first section and had to cut a lot out.

I envisioned Urban Touch being a for-profit entity that supports a community workshop and possibly even a community showcase or exhibition. The workshop would be a place where the community can come in and work on whatever they choose, as long as the raw materials are found in deserted areas in Detroit. Just as you said, this area would be the physical location for the connection of workers and citizens, making the business much more personal. Citizens would have the option of either taking their finished pieces back to their homes, or leaving them in the community showcase as inspiration for others.

Those were my other two ideas that could start up a larger community involvement on many levels. That is just the beginning though - this general idea could take off in a lot of different directions once the concept is understood by the local population.

So yea, love the idea!
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Szilvia Varga's reply to Michael Kwolek's comment

Szilvia Varga

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December 10, 2011, 04:01PM
Haha, I had so much hassle with posting my first concept yesterday - newbie here as well :) It kept telling me to cut the summary to 1024 characters and then to 250 or I dunno. Probably spent an hour just to manage to get down the number of words or figure out what info should go into which box :)))))

I'm sure it will be easier next time.
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