Details make the difference

In the East, Matanovic says, church steeples serve the same purpose. Often these soar over town commons, which he calls metaphors for community life.

"Over time, we believe that encounters develop a sense of community, which translates into tangible feelings of trust, safety, home, and so forth," he says.

In this context, well-designed benches can play a significant role in facilitating interaction. Matanovic says they represent "hellos" and "goodbyes."

Increasing social interaction also has another benefit for the residents of public housing, especially recent immigrants: It helps in the networking so critical to upward mobility.

With that in mind, Pomegranate works to create attractive central mailbox shelters. These serve as the modern equivalent of the village well.

Pomegranate also focuses on simple street amenities, such as shelters, lightposts, and benches.

In an increasingly prefabricated world, buying manufactured street furniture strikes Matanovic as a missed artistic opportunity.

"We say, 'Wait a minute. Let's make something different,' " he explains. "Instead of splitting function and art - buying lightposts from a catalog and putting in a sculpture later - we say, 'Turn the lightposts, the sidewalks, the bus shelters into artwork.' That way you'll get something unique. We believe in that kind of specificity and celebration of local identity."

Art in the service of people is evident in the work the Pomegranate Center coordinated at the Esperanza housing project in eastern Washington, where Latino migrant workers and their families live.

It's a stark setting, made even less inviting by intense summer heat and high winds. To put a friendlier face on the surroundings, straw-bale windbreaks that double as benches were turned into a simple gathering place.

The housing units were made less barracks-like by painting birds-in-flight murals on one end. These designs, which suggest the migration of both birds and people, make for a friendlier environment, especially for young children.

"If we can design well for children, we also will design well for the community at large," Mata-novic says.

Terry Kinzel, who runs a family-assistance program for area residents, says Pomegranate's efforts to include art and aesthetically pleasing common areas at Esperanza was done because the developers felt it was important, not because anybody would see it.

"It's 60 miles from any other community, and nobody drives by," she says.

During the past five years, the area's population has soared. Ms. Kinzel thinks the attention to visual detail has made a difference. "The art brought into the community at this stage is going to influence the growth of the community for its entire life," she predicts.

Dedicated listening to design input from community members is the key, Matanovic says, yet he acknowledges it is challenging .

The community, in a sense, helps identify the ingredients, which Pomegranate turns into a memorable "local dish."

"It's like a good chef," he explains. "Your calories come in many different ways, but a good chef will arrange something that is pleasing and professional."

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