News Release
TAHOE — Design Workshop Foundation is pleased to announce it will partner with Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California for its 2025 Community Capacity Building Initiative. The Tribe will collaborate with Design Workshop Foundation, including planners and designers from Design Workshop Inc., to receive pro-bono strategic planning and public space design for the Woodfoords Húngalelti Community. Through this effort, design teams will work closely with the community leaders and stakeholders to advance action to overcome the Tribe’s lack of outdoor recreation spaces.
“The DW Foundation Capacity Building project will be a collaboration with the Washoe Tribe to develop a vision for outdoor recreation opportunities supporting community health and well-being, centered around a catalytic bike park project,” said Sarah Konradi, Executive Director of Design Workshop Foundation. “This initiative is key to creating a lasting, sustainable outcome for this community and outdoor recreation. We look forward to working with the Tribe, along with the robust team of partners involved on this exciting project.”
Woodfords Community Council (WCC, interchangeably used with Húngalelti) is the governing body for the Woodfords Húngalelti Community, and are organized under the Washoe Tribe’s Constitution. Húngalelti is home of the Southern band of the federally recognized Washoe Tribe which has lived in the Tahoe area for time immemorial. Its key strengths include strong governance and a rich network of community programs. The challenges are rooted in economic disparity and its rural location as approximately 85% of the community experiences poverty, lack of resources, and high school dropout rates. This project seeks to capitalize on the creation of a bike park for disadvantaged youth and community members. They have secured the designation of a specific, underutilized parcel of Tribal land for the development of a new, centralized community bike park, where children can safely enjoy riding their bikes and engage in physical activity.
“The skills offered by Design Workshop Foundation are critical to turning our abstract need of outdoor recreation space for families into a concrete, actionable design plan. The process will support our team by providing a clear, evidence-based roadmap for developing a central community bike park, nestled between spaces where community residents can enjoy existing gathering spaces, and with an eye toward developing a variety of playground structures,” said Steven Buck Cruz, WCC Vice Chair and Manager for the Washoe Tribe Conservation Corps (WTCC). “The WTCC will be donating labor, while enhancing our knowledge and skill base.”
The WCC also partners with the Washoe Tribe’s Probation Department to collaborate on efforts, such as the bike park, to see community goals come to fruition. By bringing community members into a design process for a shared public space, this effort will move beyond service delivery and empower the community to physically shape their own environment. Once complete, the bike park and community spaces provide areas for healthy outdoor recreation and be maintained by the Húngalelti Conservation Crew and local youth, creating stewardship opportunities within the community. Additional project partners include Alpine County, California Mountain Biking Coalition, Tahoe Backcountry Alliance, and University of San Francisco Architecture Community Design Collaboration.
Established as a 501(c)3 in 2002, the mission of Design Workshop Foundation is to partner with communities to catalyze transformative change through design assistance, capacity building, and education. For additional information visit us at designworkshopfoundation.org.
Founded in 1969, Design Workshop is an internationally renowned design firm specializing in landscape architecture, urban planning, and strategic services with seven studios in the U.S. and projects spanning the globe. Our work focuses on the intersection of art, community, environment, and economics to increase social equity and create places of meaning and resonance. For additional information follow us at @designworkshop on LinkedIn and Instagram.