California-Based MacArthur Fellow Reimagines Spaces in Underserved Neighborhoods
Gathering spaces in unexpected places.
-
CategoryDesign, Giving Back, Homes + Spaces, Makers + Entrepreneurs
Oakland-based Walter Hood is one of 26 recipients of this year’s MacAuthur Fellowship, a “genius grant” awarded to U.S. citizens or residents who display self-direction, originality and dedication to creative pursuits. A landscape architect and creative director and founder of Hood Design Studio, Hood reimagines spaces on street corners and town squares in urban areas to encourage community and recreation.
According to NPR, “Hood says he thinks of his grandmother’s house in rural North Carolina as a throughline to the work he does today. When he was a child, getting to her house was a journey that took him from his home in Charlotte onto highways and eventually ended by him seeing his grandmother’s house sitting on its own in the middle of fields.
“’It didn’t have toilets. You know, it had an outhouse, but there was always room in her house, food, and everything was about the land,’ Hood told All Things Considered. ‘I think those memories now shape kind of everything I think about.’”
You can read more about Hood and the narrative behind his urban projects here.
Photo courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation.
Santa Ynez Valley Hopes to Turn on Your Tastebuds at Their Annual Restaurant Weeks
Delicious dining deals begin on January 27.
Post-Punk Trio Automatic Drop New Album and Video for “Strange Conversations”
Seminal LA label Stones Throw to release the band’s debut LP.
Melissa Etheridge Enters the Cannabis Market with Etheridge Farms
The Santa Cruz County-based company will focus on serving the needs of middle-aged women.