Community MusicWorks Center

Community MusicWorks (CMW) is an organization that has been serving Providence’s West End, South Side, Elmwood, and Olneyville communities for 25 years. Their mission is to create “cohesive community through music education that transforms the lives of children, families, and musicians.”

In 2017 CMW purchased an empty lot at 1326 Westminster Street, one block from its original storefront, to create a “Hub for community performance,” a “Home for young musicians,” and a “Center for developing practice”. Offering gateway opportunities for youth, this is a place where students will gather, make music, build connections, and envision powerful new futures. The organization understands itself as “a catalyst for community development, a space that connects musical life to neighborhood culture”.

CMW engaged the architectural firm 3SIX0 to design the Community MusicWorks Center and Healthy Materials Lab to guide the building to be a healthier place for the community. From the beginning, the project involved a collaborative process between CMW’s Board, the architecture practice 3SIX0, and HML. Sustainability in this project is understood on multiple levels.

3SIX0 architects state: “The building will be a pioneering, carbon sequestering wood structure, built with cross-laminated timber floors (CLT) and wooden glue-laminated beams and columns. Other ecological strategies include siting and orientation— taking advantage of the southern exposure for solar gain, natural lighting, and thermally efficient building envelope. The life cycle and extraction/disposal environmental and health costs of all materials used in the new building guide the selection of materials and finishes.”

Healthy Materials Lab has been working with CMW and 3SIX0 to help the inclusion of material health into their new center’s ethos and physical building. Since the inception of the project, HML hosted educational presentations for 3SIX0 architects, CMW Leadership Team, CMW’s Board, Project Manager, and General Contractor.

HML initially identified a Material Health Guiding Framework for the project, which maps environmental toxics in surrounding communities whose residents will frequent the space. The result is a comprehensive guideline summarizing local toxics and demographic information, suggestions of chemical groups that should be avoided, and selective strategies for healthier building.

A collaborative process allows all teams to communicate regularly, evaluate requirements for specific product groups, and identify healthier materials and design principles to be applied. Throughout the project, HML offers seminars to every new team member to ensure that every aspect of the project —from design to construction to maintenance— can contribute to the Material Health goal in their sphere of responsibility. 3SIX0 and HML exchange details, pairing requirements and criteria with healthier product options.