An integral part of the work we do at Huss is prioritizing beauty and acknowledging community relationships in everything we do, including our recent construction projects! Because we realize that our buildings and rooms intrinsically reflect what we value and have the capacity to shape opportunity, we were very intentional about the way we designed the Imaginarium and the Front Porch Pavilion this summer. We wanted the space to be a physical manifestation of our belief in imagination to create change.
During our Friends of Huss campaign, we’re highlighting a few of the stories behind our recent renovations to highlight the kind of energy and vision you will be supporting by becoming a Friend.
The Imaginarium shelves pictured above are constructed primarily out of re-used material. The uprights on the upper shelves (on each side of the windows) and the backing both came from a 130-year-old barn on Gleason Road in Three Rivers. The photo below shows the barn in mid-deconstruction. The Bouman-Baker family currently owns and runs Full Circle Farm, a wonderful, small organic farm that specializes in vegetables, eggs, chicken, and pork. They generously donated the barn—which had fallen into disrepair and was financially unfeasible to repair. The window sill shelf is made from the beams we removed when we opened up the ceiling to the floor above in the Imaginarium. The overall effect is a warm, inviting, floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that wraps visitors in books while they’re in the room.
Our hope is that these shelves will carry oodles of valuable books for the community to purchase and for the Huss Project’s permanent collection. Many thanks to Levi Lucks for his incredible carpentry skills on this project! If you have books lying around your home that you don’t want, send them our way to 1008 8th St. Contact us to arrange a drop off.
Please accept our invitation to join us in this work by becoming a Friend of Huss! With a monthly donation of $10 or more, our Friends are the foundation for a flourishing future for our creative, community-building efforts. Thank you for your partnership!
