Everyone Deserves a Seat at the Table
During the debate for this part of class, I started thinking about how, during school, we are always looking at communities in a deep and thoughtful way. I also started thinking how that is not always the case outside of school in the profession. For example, last semester I was part of the team working on a project for a community around Greenville. Clemson students had designed and installed an art piece in the community over ten years ago and the community loved it. However, it was very easily damaged or needed maintenance frequently and since those maintaining it did not know how to, the installation was torn down. The community was very upset that this occurred and asked that Clemson help design and install a new piece since the original meant so much to them. The old installation was removed without consulting those it impacted while the original design, and the new one, was meant to involve the community. It is interesting to see how the importance of community involvement is lost in the profession and I hope that as emerging architects, we can help ensure that all parties are involved.
Hey Kayla, I was also a part of that team working on the project you mentioned. I think it's super interesting how the projects we work on in school can have such a huge impact on the community around them. That makes me wonder just how much the town of Newbern, AL (where Auburn's rural studio is located) has grown around the architecture that the students produce? And how much does that community depend on the studio?
ReplyDeleteThis can also relate back to the community build studio we were involved in. I like to think that because we had that experience/exposure, that we are more sensitive to the community and that gives us the advantage in the profession to bring back the community involvement. I think previous generations were tackling one issue at a time and forgot what the people needed on top of those other 'issues'.
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