After some *cough* persuasion by Herb and a wonderful book I have been reading "Design Like You Give a Damn" I have decided to change the topic of my research paper.
As a designer I struggle with designing homes for the wealthy. I feel as if my work does not contribute anything to "the greater good." What have I done for people in need? I have only created luxury items for people who can afford it, rather than creating something for people who need it. How have I contributed to society in a positive way?
These are the issues I will be addressing in the "new and improved" research paper. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!
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4 comments:
Persuasion??? Who, MOI??? No, it could not be.
This is a rich topic that we all could learn a lot from. Very few, if any, designers set out to design good buildings on a shoestring budget. Anyone can design a beautiful building with an almost unlimited budget. Only the truly gifted can design something that is equally great, but at a fraction of the cost. There was a developer in Chicago that was taking empty lots (or lots that had condemnable buildings)and building new row houses in low income neighborhoods. The turn around time was like 3 weeks from start to finish of the buildings. Pretty impressive. I will try to find some more info for you, but I have to dig in some old undergrad class stuff to locate it. Think if an Architect did the above....
as promised Ezra Community Building Project in Chicago, Bigelow Homes were the developer/builders:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&contentOID=536921278&topChannelName=HomePage
I'd recommend looking at the works of Bryan McKay-Lyons (Sp?), a Canadian architect who has done some really awesome stuff for relatively small budgets. He came and spoke at UNCC one semester while I was an undergrad student, and his work ethic, his portfolio and his approach to design were really inspiring. He wasn't trying to be a super-star architect -- he just wanted to design great stuff and not break the bank while doing it.
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