This thesis explores the development of an interdisciplinary design incubator and community business center in Richmond, Virginia through the adaptive reuse of a retired, historic school building. In contrast to the deteriorating conditions of Patrick Henry School, renewed growth abounds in its extraordinary site surroundings—the 105 acres of Forest Hill Park, which serves as the virtual backyard of the school building. This dualism provided a prime opportunity for discovering the design possibilities in connecting a built space to its physical surroundings and for giving meaningful new life to an abandoned space.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores the development of an interdisciplinary design incubator and community business center in Richmond, Virginia through the adaptive reuse of a retired, historic school building. In contrast to the deteriorating conditions of Patrick Henry School, renewed growth abounds in its extraordinary site surroundings—the 105 acres of Forest Hill Park, which serves as the virtual backyard of the school building. This dualism provided a prime opportunity for discovering the design possibilities in connecting a built space to its physical surroundings and for giving meaningful new life to an abandoned space.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Carter, Mindy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Interior Design","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Camden Whitehead"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:53Z","subjects":["adaptive reuse","incubator","design center","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1097"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1097","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1097","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/8D2D-Y757","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Camden Whitehead"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Carter, Mindy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interior Design"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["adaptive reuse","incubator","design center","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/8D2D-Y757","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1097"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the development of an interdisciplinary design incubator and community business center in Richmond, Virginia through the adaptive reuse of a retired, historic school building. In contrast to the deteriorating conditions of Patrick Henry School, renewed growth abounds in its extraordinary site surroundings—the 105 acres of Forest Hill Park, which serves as the virtual backyard of the school building. This dualism provided a prime opportunity for discovering the design possibilities in connecting a built space to its physical surroundings and for giving meaningful new life to an abandoned space.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Organizing Around a Center: A Design Incubator and Business Center"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Camden Whitehead"],"dc:creator":["Carter, Mindy"],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores the development of an interdisciplinary design incubator and community business center in Richmond, Virginia through the adaptive reuse of a retired, historic school building. In contrast to the deteriorating conditions of Patrick Henry School, renewed growth abounds in its extraordinary site surroundings—the 105 acres of Forest Hill Park, which serves as the virtual backyard of the school building. This dualism provided a prime opportunity for discovering the design possibilities in connecting a built space to its physical surroundings and for giving meaningful new life to an abandoned space.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/8D2D-Y757","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1097"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["adaptive reuse","incubator","design center","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["Organizing Around a Center: A Design Incubator and Business Center"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interior Design"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:53Z"}