The Building Blocks of Space 4 Art: How Community Builds Began
A Four-Part Series
Part 1: How Community Builds Began ← Currently Viewing
Part 2: Building Space 4 Art (Coming Soon)
Part 3: A Community Raises the Walls (Coming Soon)
Part 4: Building the Future Together (Coming Soon)
A Lifetime of Building Community
Now in its 16th year, Space 4 Art was created by, through, and for the local arts community through a Community Build process. But what is a Community Build? And how does the process unfold?
According to architect and Space 4 Art co-founder Bob Leathers, an internationally renowned proponent and innovator of Community-Build projects, it is “when the community comes together and volunteers, and realizes a dream. The best Community Build has professionals leading it, whether they’re paid or volunteering their time. But the important part is the vast majority of the people are volunteers because they believe in the project.”
It All Started With a Treehouse
For Bob, building for community has been a lifelong journey. When he was just eight years old, he organized a group of neighborhood kids to build some treehouses. While parents helped supply the materials and tools, the kids did all the construction work. This was his earliest introduction to the Community Build concept, and probably also the beginning of his storied career as an architect.
Over the next four decades, Bob's architectural firm guided communities around the world in imagining, designing, and building playgrounds together. Children sketched their dream playgrounds. Parents, grandparents, neighbors, and volunteers picked up hammers. Professional builders supplied leadership, but the community delivered the heart. By the time Bob retired in 2004, more than 2,400 Community Build playgrounds had been completed in all 50 states and 10 countries across the globe.
In 1986, Bob appeared on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood (episode 1560, “Making and Creating”) to share with television viewers how these playgrounds were constructed. Click the orange button below and fast forward to 2:23 to see Bob’s appearance with Mr. Rogers!
Though Bob retired from his formal architectural career in 2004, handing the firm over to his son, the Community Builds never left his heart. In 2008, an opportunity arose to lead an ambitious project that would change San Diego's arts community forever.