I don't use Facebook anymore, but I was recently sent this. It is a post by a reporter for The West End Phoenix asking people from the community what they think of the JUNCTION sign on top of Junction House. As of right now, there are 217 comments and, if you scroll through them, you'll see that they are actually overwhelmingly positive.

Some people were critical of the fact that, depending on what you consider to be the boundaries of the Junction, this sign may or may not actually be in it. Some see Junction House as belonging to the West Bend neighborhood. So here is yet another real estate developer stretching boundaries and renaming neighborhoods.

I don't know, neighborhood boundaries are a funny thing. They're often amorphous and they often change. Here's what Google believes to be the boundaries of the Junction:

As you can see from the map, the whole point of the sign was to mark one of the entrances to the neighborhood. Although, Junction House seems to sit on contested lands; Google Maps shows it as simultaneously belonging to the West Bend. Whatever the case, it is really great to see that the vast majority of people seem to love the sign.

My favorite comment is this one here: "Love it. My kid recognizes it and always yells that we are close to home." I mean, this was our hope. We wanted to create something that could become a symbol for the area, help to reinforce its existing identity, and also bring people delight. The fact that kids are loving it makes it that much better.

Perhaps this is proof that we shouldn't be so rigid when it comes to the design of our cities. A little color, and some LEDs that look like neon, can be a positive thing. Just ask the kids.

Tonight was a "housewarming" party for the residents of Junction House. It was hosted in the co-working space that I wrote about, here, which was a lot of fun to see in action.

As part of the event, we opened up the doors to our model suite and to the penthouse suite that sits under the Junction placemaking sign.

And in the penthouse, we set up a little gallery displaying historic photos of the Junction -- from the 80s -- taken by photographer Avard Woolaver.

They're awesome photos, and eventually they'll make their way down to the lobby. But for now, it's a penthouse gallery.

However, the most important component of the evening was that it was an opportunity for residents to meet each other. And that's why the question of the night quickly became, "so what floor do you live on?"

I sometimes hear people say that there can be a lack of community in multi-family buildings. But I can honestly tell you that I felt the exact opposite of that this evening.

It was nice to meet so many lovely people from the building.

Yesterday's post was written in the co-working (/lobby) area of Junction House. I wrote about this space nearly a year ago when it was under construction, but now it's complete and people like me are using it:

I spent a few hours working in the space yesterday, and it was amazing to see residents and guests coming and going. Some people were waiting to meet someone. Some people were just playing on their phones. And others, like me, were jumping on and off calls and writing blog posts. Later in the evening, it transitioned to guests carrying bottles of wine and flowers.

This was always the intent of this "amenity." We wanted to create a social space for residents and guests, replicating a bit of the feeling that you might get in a hotel lobby bar. But ultimately, this is the kind of space that will almost certainly evolve over time, depending on how residents choose to use it. It's not rigidly defined; it's more of a flex space.

It's also worth mentioning that this space was designed well before COVID. A lot of people have asked us if this was in response to that, hoping to identify tangible ways in which design has responded to the pandemic. But honestly, we didn't change anything. Gathering spaces were important before, and they remain important today.

I guess in many ways this is a space that sits somewhere in between a "first place" and a "third place." It's almost a first place in that it's in a building that people call home. But it's also a more public social environment that isn't technically home or work. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how it settles in and evolves over time.

I'll report back.