Why I Took This Course

While 50 years have passed since De Carlo presented “Architecture’s Public” as a critical argument for involving users in architectural planning and design, it remains relevant to my research. He raised some of the same points that drove me, as an education student, to architecture courses in preparation for my research on the effects of campus structures and landscapes on student engagement at community colleges. Underlying my questions are concerns about opportunities and challenges relating to the following:

• diverse populations studying at community colleges;
• the need to bolster college completion;
• a campus’ capacity to affect a sense of belonging, competence, and empowerment; and
• recognition that aging buildings strain college resources.

As DeCarlo stated, the architectural profession—and consequently the structures architects have produced—has historically reflected the values, histories, and power of dominant groups, leading to an oversaturation of majority narratives and underrepresentation of marginalized groups. With my research, I hope to recognize my own blind spots as a college administrator who has some input into campus buildings. Mostly, I hope to elevate the scrutiny of existing campus spaces on the part of community college leaders and planners and the application of theory to the construction or renovation of future campus spaces. While DeCarlo talked about architects siding with users, I am interested in seeing college leaders (i.e., the client) siding with users, too.

Finally, I hope that my anticipated research methodology aligns with Alejandro Aravena’s points on collaboration. I plan to conduct action research with users (i.e. students) using Photovoice—a qualitative, participatory methodology that requires learning about and collaborating with marginalized groups. Some goals of the methodology are to engage people in active listening and dialogue that leads to critical reflection and to move people to act on behalf of positive community change. If I use it correctly, I believe that Photovoice will empower students to think critically about their learning environments while helping me understand their campuses’ effects on student engagement.

Old: Greenville Technical College's University Transfer Building

New: Greenville Technical College's Center for Manufacturing Innovation