设计程序 Connects 体系结构 Students with Real Clients

艺术与建筑学院 program gives students the experience of seeing a real-life project from blueprint through build.

当学生们想成为一名建筑师时, they often think of working in an office with computers, 摩天大楼设计, 兰德尔·蒂尔说, associate professor and program head for architecture in the 艺术与建筑学院.

但建筑远不止于此, and U of I’s 设计程序 is hoping to change that assumption for students and the community.

“Design-build opens up a new way of thinking about doing architecture. There’s the possibility to do design with my hands, somewhere between being a builder and an architect,蒂尔说。. “There’s something very concrete in the connection with the community when people see what architecture can do for a group and a community.”

Design-Build is a new program in the 艺术与建筑学院 and gives students an opportunity to design and build a real project over the course of a semester with the help of outside partners. Students complete the design work with the help of an instructor, and complete the preparation and work with contractors to build their design. The project is tied to a six-credit upper division studio course.

“In a design studio, you do a design project that’s drawn or modeled,蒂尔说。. “Design-build is trying to incorporate the design process that studio deals with and putting it into real materials and real assembly. 这是一种不同的学习方式.”

参与现实世界的项目

2016年春季学期, two dozen students designed the 驼鹿溪取暖小屋, 整个夏天都完工了. The hut is located on the Lightning Creek drainage on Moose Creek Road near Sandpoint and includes a wood-burning stove and a covered area to park snowmobiles.

The project was a collaboration with the Sandpoint Ranger District, 国家森林基金会, 爱达荷森林集团, 爱达荷州公园和娱乐部门, 以及冬季摩托车俱乐部.

小屋为朋友们提供了聚会的场所, a safe place for the public during snowstorms or a base camp for search and rescue parties in the remote North Idaho wilderness.

林业局是一个理想的客户, being an entity that’s there for the public good,蒂尔说。. “他们能够获得一些政府拨款. The Moose Creek hut is a nice piece of what our program aspires to be and shows off the wild, 我们大学的乡村特色.”

寻找合适的客户

One of the challenges of a design-build project is finding the right clients with a project of the right size. 时间是一个巨大的限制, because projects have to be completed within a semester, 或者一个学期和之后的暑假. The client must also have a way to fund the project.

“因为牛津大学的位置, we have different opportunities for different projects in this area. 在特洛伊做一个项目, that’s pretty close and a different urban condition than building a remote warming hut, hopefully responding to climate and culture that’s unique to the region,蒂尔说。.

Design-build programs give students an opportunity to see a project from start to finish, building skills and portfolio pieces that will be valuable as they enter the job market.

斯科特•劳伦斯, 建筑学助理教授, is the faculty member devoted to the Design-Build program. He said the biggest challenge for students is the logistical work of preparing materials.

“This gives them experience working with professionals, 承包商和订购原材料,他说. “学生们负责所有的排序和时间安排. It’s a very different experience from a normal architecture studio because there’s always that edge and there’s a speed to it.”

Working with clients also presents a new challenge.

“他们学到了很多与客户互动的知识, not only do the clients shape the project with the students, but the clients will drop in and students have to stop and interact with the client,他说.

Lawrence said each project is a learning experience for him.

“A lot of times, you as the professor don’t know, but you do know the process to find out. What you’re passing on to the students is the principle of, ‘Oh, 我知道找出真相的过程,’”他说。. “They’re building this inventory of methodologies for figuring things out, 我们希望他们带着什么离开.”

构建学生作品集

Lawrence said design-build projects make student portfolios stand out among their peers.

“It gives them a unique experience where they have a project they’ve seen all the way through and they can go into their first job and be useful more quickly,他说. “My goal is this experience is just one more thing that differentiates a U of I student.”

A large component of the program is community service.

“That’s a big part of what I want to do is help the community, 不管是帕卢斯还是爱达荷州. 大学可以成为一笔财富. 我们有这些愿意并且有能力的学生, our hope is we’ll be able to work with nonprofits or groups trying to make things for the community.”

泰丝·福克斯的文章，大学通讯 & 市场营销.