GROWHOUSE
the CORRIDOR
BLACK HISTORY + HERITAGE in BROOKLYN
the CORRIDOR connects sites of Black history and culture to contemporary Black-owned businesses using heritage plantings, signage, creative activations, and collective stewardship.
Illustration by Ten to One
Saidiya Hartman, African American scholar and writer
“The past is not yet done with us.”
the CORRIDOR creates a cultural, economic, and ecological ecosystem to support generations of thriving Black residents who can remain in and return to the neighborhoods we’ve built.
Hilton Als, African American writer
“The past makes the present make sense.”
2025 Call for Designers
〰️
2025 Call for Designers 〰️
Last year, we began The Corridor in Flatbush - hosting a Youth Design Competition which culminated in signage that connected the Flatbush African Burial Ground to Lefferts Historic House - two crucial sites in understanding Black history and futures in Brooklyn.
This year, with the support of a SBS Public Realm grant, we’re expanding the Corridor to Bed Stuy and Crown Heights, focusing on illuminating history with a creative lighting installation on Malcolm X Blvd. This crucial street is one of the longest in Brooklyn, connecting Bushwick, Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, Flatbush and Marine Park in an uninterrupted corridor.
We’ll hone in on the junction at the Utica Avenue A train station, at an unnamed plaza and connect it to sites of history such as Dr. Josephine English’s mansion (The People’s Mansion) and contemporary businesses on Malcolm X Blvd.
Together, we will design and install the following:
Creative pedestrian lighting at key public spaces
Wayfinding signage that highlights Black-owned businesses, rain gardens, and cultural sites
Digital storytelling components linked by QR code/technology
All elements will be co-designed with local residents, merchants, and youth.
PROJECT GOALS + VALUES
- honoring Black history and culture
- reclaiming Black spaces in the face of gentrification
- honoring Black history and culture - reclaiming Black spaces in the face of gentrification
safety -
functional beauty -
cultural resonance -
safety - functional beauty - cultural resonance -
- ancestral stewardship - co-design - ecological integrity - anti-extractive process
- ancestral stewardship - co-design - ecological integrity - anti-extractive process
We’re looking for designers who will:
Co-design and co-lead robust and culturally rooted workshops, surveys, and creative outreach methods.
Develop illustrations, site plans, and renderings for community review.
Refine and finalize designs and assist with city permitting.
Produce and install the temporary interventions.
Designers with lived experience in or strong ties to Bed-Stuy and neighboring communities are strongly encouraged to apply. We are prioritizing teams with experience in culturally sensitive, community-driven design. For us, this means we’re looking for designers who understand their privilege and are committed to a process where historically disinvested communities are supported in their leadership.
Estimated honorarium: $20,000, with an additional budget for fabrication (final budget will be confirmed by July 31, 2025).
Proposal deadline: August 15, 2025
The final project will be completed by June 2026 and live in public space for 1 year.
Submission guidelines
Start by reviewing the Bed Stuy Commercial District Needs Assessment, images of Malcolm X Blvd, and our moodboard below.
Then submit via this Google form:
a single PDF proposal (maximum 15 pages)
Your proposal should include the following sections:
1. Contact + Team Information
Your name, studio or firm name, phone number, email, and website (if applicable)
Names and roles of collaborators to be involved in the project
Whether your team is MWBE-certified, a cooperative, or BIPOC-led
Any existing connection to Bedford-Stuyvesant and/or neighboring communities
2. Relevant Work Samples
Images and short descriptions of up to 3 past projects
Links to websites or portfolios if available
Highlight any projects involving public space, community design, or light-based work
3. Statement of Interest
Tell us why this project speaks to you
Share how your values align with community-centered design and Black cultural preservation
Let us know how you would approach this opportunity and your vision for impact
4. Proposed Roles and Services
Describe the specific skills and services you can contribute (e.g. fabrication, graphic design, digital storytelling, solar lighting design)
Let us know if you are applying as a full-service team or would like to be paired with other collaborators
5. Additional Information
Any additional information that might prove useful during the review process, including CVs or press information.
Submissions are due by Friday, August 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET
Please send all questions to: Aashika Nagarajan, Program Manager, aashika@urbandesignforum.org
moodboard
Interplays between shadow and light like Kara Walker and Deb Willis
Naming the unnamed
Rooted in Black cultural symbolism like Carrie Mae Weems and Rashid Johnson
Intricacy and craftsman ship of African artisans
Texture of African and African Diasporic materials
Sculpted and gilded like Barbara Chase-Riboud
Key dates
July 21, 2025: Call for Design and Lighting Teams Opens
August 15, 2025: Submission Deadline at 11:59pm ET
August 25-26, 2025: Design Team Interviews
September 1, 2025: Design Team Notifications
September 8-12, 2025: Project Onboarding
September 2025 – June 2026: Project Implementation (Community Engagement, Design, Installation)
June 30, 2026: Project completed, including reflections and reports
Our Corridor Activation Plan
A roadmap for individuals and groups protecting and preserving sites of memory
Based in Central Brooklyn, GrowHouse Design + Development Group is a community design and development cooperative that uses the linkages between travel + education, entrepreneurship + healing, art + technology to empower Black people and our allies to design safe, brave, and flourishing communities.
Our vision is for Black communities to be sovereign, connected, and thriving. To make this vision a reality, we help communities to cooperatively organize, design, finance, purchase, occupy and steward real estate, cultural institutions and production, and other forms of wealth.
