Partners from Marta, City of Atlanta and Soccer in the Streets were on hand to support HKS at this years AIA awards
Soccer in the Streets is very proud to announce one of our partners, HKS Architects was recently awarded an AIA design award for their design work towards the StationSoccer project. HKS has worked alongside partners like the Atlanta City Design Studio to help bring best-in-class design work to help expand the vision of StationSoccer to include elements of developing the built environment with components like classrooms, community gardens, and social impact spaces.
A few years ago, the City Design Studio team approached Soccer in the Streets about connecting with HKS in regard to a design fellowship program. This fellowship opportunity would bring together a true collaborative table with public, private, and nonprofit partners providing opportunities to learn and expand ideas around project design.
The HKS fellow program gave student fellows an opportunity to re-imagine HE Holmes MARTA station with a StationSoccer concept. Students gathered over three days and conceptualized plans for what is now an unused parking area at the station.
HE Holmes Rendering
The HKS fellowship led to HKS teaming up with Soccer in the Streets as part of their Citizen HKS program. This program is an impact initiative whereby HKS makes a global impact by providing services and resources through its employees in communities of need. In terms of Atlanta, the HKS team based here was able to help with design renderings for our StationSoccer renderings for our train car project at West End station.
In addition, HKS employees also worked with Atlanta City Studio and Soccer in the Streets kids on a concept design session whereby kids were able to visit the Atlanta City studio in downtown Atlanta via MARTA to take part in a train car design classroom session. HKS also provided Soccer in the Streets with a Nature of Place study which provided much-needed information about everything from the built environment to health, ecology, energy, and resources including demographics in and around our current and future projects
Atlanta City Studio design session with West End youth players
Last year HKS provided renderings for the StationSoccer Lindbergh project which we were able to build and provide programs for in late 2021. More information about some of this HKS work and their involvement can also be found in this blog by their staff which also quotes Sheba Ross, an HKS employee that has provided fantastic levels of support in this partnership -
“Sometimes a gratifying experience in the real estate professional does not involve a building, but it always involves people,” said Sheba Ross, StationSoccer project director for HKS Atlanta. “The StationSoccer project has given us a seamless platform to envision inclusive blueprints for the future through active engagement with game-changers in our city.”
More recently HKS was not only the recipient of an AIA award for design for StationSoccer but they also expressed an interest in being donors and funders through their global Citizen HKS employee network. Just last month HKS raised $40,000 through the CitizenHKS platform to provide funding for our classroom project at the West End Station.
Decommissioned train car rendering at StationSoccer- West End
That project will be taking off in the Spring of 2022! Sanjay Patel - Soccer in the Streets Director of Strategic Projects added,
“It goes without saying, partners like HKS and Atlanta City Studio are a big part of helping make the StationSoccer project come alive. Whether its design form or interactive engagements with the communities we serve - it’s a privilege to be able to work with partners that are intentional about helping make community spaces that were unused, functional community gathering hubs that are now actively used for soccer, and more.”
More information on the classroom and expansion of StationSoccer will be coming in the near future, we are excited to share as we continue to work with partners focused on making a difference.