KNUD HANSEN WIC BUILDING
In partnership with the Office of Disaster Recovery (ODR) and the USVI Department of Health, Groundswell is providing site design, landscape architectural and visualization services to support the rebuild of the Knud Hansen WIC Building in Charlotte Amalie. The proposed building will house the St. Thomas offices of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The facility will also include the St. Thomas WIC clinic, WIC executive offices, classrooms,and storage. The design of the building and surrounding landscape has been guided by two primary goals: to create light filled, welcoming, and highly functional interior spaces that are intimately connected to inviting outdoor spaces. The foremost expression of these goals is the entrance courtyard: a protected, transitional space between the street and building interior. The wall of glass facing the courtyard visually connects the interior and exterior spaces, and elevates the existing concrete retaining wall from a piece of site infrastructure to a dynamic mural centerpiece celebrating women and children. Construction began April 2022.