A confluence is the coming together, meeting, or gathering at a specific point. In Pittsburgh the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio River that gives life to cities like Parkersburg, WV, Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville, KY as it winds its way west to the Mississippi River.
Pittsburgh is also home to another confluence that happens at 6022 Broad Street. It is here where the efforts of Inscape Publico and Inscape Studio meet, creating the home for Repair the World’s new community center. Repair the World is a Jewish faith based organization that believes volunteers are the backbone of all social movements and are one of the most powerful vehicles for social change. Inscape Publico’s design vision for a Pittsburgh community center was developed by Inscape Studio into the technical drawings needed to obtain a building permit and construct Repair the World’s new home in the East Liberty neighborhood of the Steel City.
The doors to the Pittsburgh community center opened this past July and welcome all to the hub for Repair the World’s mission of volunteerism and service. Repair the World has a model, similar to AmeriCorp, where young adults are mobilized to positively impact communities through actively participating in programs to improve the quality of life in in the neighborhoods in which they live. The Pittsburgh volunteers, occupying the spaces designed by Inscape Publico, are working on issues such as education inequality, elderly care, hunger, refugee resettlement, and youth development. Partner organizations include Higher Achievement, Assemble Pittsburgh, East End Cooperative Ministries, Neighborhood Learning Alliance, Jewish Family & Children Services, and Circles Greater Pittsburgh.
It is a privilege to partner with organizations like Repair the World to create architecture that surely impacts the lives of individuals in communities throughout the US. Besides the center in Pittsburgh, Inscape designed the recently opened community centers for Repair the World’s Detroit, Philadelphia, and Baltimore locations. We believe that architecture has the power to inspire. Our design for Repair the World Pittsburgh is a testament to and an instrument for the people who inhabit the spaces we shaped.
