GET UP! is both an act of architecture and an act of resistance. Conceived by artist Ndume Olatushani—who spent 28 years in prison, including 20 on death row for a crime he did not commit – the project transforms a derelict structure in a red-lined St. Louis neighborhood into a space of return, reentry, and renewal.
The new architecture does not erase what stood before. Instead, it listens. The existing building’s worn brick, patched walls, and exposed scars are preserved as material testimony, anchoring the intervention in historical continuity rather than aesthetic erasure.
GET UP! is not a prototype or a monument. It is a living framework for spatial justice: a site where dignity, beauty, and shared purpose reshape the architecture of reentry.
Programmatically, the space is a hybrid: part community center, part educational studio, part transitional housing. Flexible interiors support workshops in cooking and art-making, while also accommodating public events and community outreach. Above, modest residential units offer returning citizens a safe place to live and reorient.
The design resists institutional tropes. Instead of fences and fluorescent sterility, the building offers openness, warmth, and texture. Transparency between uses fosters interaction without surveillance. Materials are local and tactile – salvaged brick, reclaimed wood, and handmade tile created in collaboration with neighborhood artists.
The facade is clad in custom metal panels derived from one of Ndume’s paintings, transforming personal expression into architectural identity. This gesture is not symbolic – it is foundational. The building, like the man who imagined it, reclaims authorship and offers it to others. A mural representing prominent Black St. Louisans wraps the corner, serving as a reminder that this is a place to be proud of.
- Architectural Design
