Iteration in the Public Realm

Iteration is a fundamental part of the design process, both in the academic studio and in the professional office. It is through iterative investigation within the design process, founded in research, that students develop the skill set to be critical designers, poised to make a valuable contribution to the built environment. Typically this process is limited to speculative work, ie. work that only exists in scale representations of reality, where there is a level of complexity and resolve that cannot be obtained. Design Build courses within the academy seek to provide students a deeper understanding of the implications of their design representations in a tangible manifestation. Students understand the complexities of connections, physical limitations and the true spatial qualities of their design. They learn how to work with a client, mitigate budget and code issues, and understand the value of scheduling a team’s efforts towards a common goal. Ultimately, students are able to observe and learn for future design projects based on feedback from the end users on the final product. However, this process tends to rely on iteration within the confines of the studio environment, waiting until the work is built to offer an engagement with the community around the actual design and not representations. This paper proposes a pedagogical methodology for design build courses to engage the public throughout the design process, integral to the iterative development of the built environment. Similar to many design build studios, students within these courses are engaged in working with non-profit organizations that rely on community support, be they outreach programs, educational institutions or governmental agencies. Within this context, teams of students conduct site analysis and user group meetings to understand the desires, limitations and opportunities for each site. Once this criteria is established, students begin real time prototyping within the public realm to test their theories. Sketches of proposed tactics are constructed using easily manipulated materials like cardboard, plywood, dirt and existing furniture. This method allows for manipulation and alteration while working with the public, removing the lag created by working within the studio to refine ideas. Additionally, it creates opportunities for engagement and ownership of the work by the community during its development, in hopes of establishing greater care and sustained value by the public of the student’s final installation.Through previous, current and planned courses, this paper will document and examine design iteration in the public realm and how real time feedback can be adopted into the design process. It will also discuss projective futures for the course and student’s learning outcomes. Finally, it will outline the pedagogical and studio culture influence a vertically integrated course (composed of students from multiple years of study in both undergraduate and graduate studies), actively evidencing the value of an architectural education in the public realm, can have on the community and the academy.

Volume Editors
Sergio Palleroni, Ted Cavanagh & Ursula Hartig

ISBN
978-0-935502-94-7