An explanation of several weeks of course work...

IARC’s “Community by Design” students are exploring innovative design solutions through community awareness, collaboration and outreach. A recent project began with the identification of a pertinent design need—a hurricane shelter bus. From here, the students began an extensive research process, which challenged them to open their minds and gather information through a holistic and hands-on approach. The process unfolded like this:

To begin, the students referenced the current environmental disasters both here and abroad to investigate the challenges and repercussions that communities face when such a disaster takes place.

The students then applied this global framework to a localized environmental threat, which was quickly identified as the rash of hurricanes that hits the South East every year. The devastation and chaos that a hurricane can inflict has been experienced on many levels by all Americans who can recall Katrina and certainly, those who have grown up in Greensboro can state that they have experienced hurricane disaster first hand. This experiential learning increased the students’ understanding of the backgrounds and needs of the shelter bus project’s potential clients.

Back on campus, the students investigated precedent examples of disaster relief shelters, while breaking new ground in an attempt to design a transportable shelter in the form of a manipulated bus. Attention to form and function facilitated a careful evaluation of disaster relief facilities in use. This research led the student to focus on a diverse selection of customized shelter bus designs ranging from mobile health units to water and food distribution vehicles.

These shelter bus designs were then modified according to building codes, ergonomic guidelines and proximity theories to better facilitate the safety and comfort of the proposed users and their communities.

At this point, it was key for the students to come together and compile a working list of community contacts and resources that could be reached and utilized should the bus shelter project proceed to implement a working design.

But wait! After developing so many ideas and distilling so much research, shouldn’t such a project be shared with the greater public? To remedy this, the students created and proposed diverse modes of communication, using the edgy and engaging principles of Guerilla Marketing.

IARC’s “Community by Design” students are exploring innovative design solutions through community awareness, collaboration and outreach. A recent project began with the identification of a local design need—a bus shelter. From here, the students began an extensive research process, which challenged them to open their minds and gather information through a holistic and hands-on approach. The process unfolded like this:

To begin, the students referenced their own backyards to investigate the social and political context of Greensboro, a city historically rooted in The Civil Rights Movement.

Several GTA bus rides and interviews later, the students began to apply this historic framework to current day Greensboro, and more specifically, to the users of Greensboro’s public bus system. Disparities both economic and racial were observed and experienced to increase an understanding of the backgrounds and needs of the bus shelter project’s potential clients.

Back on campus, the students investigated precedent examples of bus shelters. Attention to form and function facilitated a careful evaluation of the variety of bus shelters in use, which allowed the students to design unique bus shelters intended for a specific site in Greensboro.

These bus shelter designs were then modified according to building codes, ergonomic guidelines and proximity theories to better facilitate the safety and comfort of the proposed users and their communities.

At this point, it was key for the students to come together and compile a working list of community contacts and resources that could be reached and utilized should the bus shelter project proceed to implement a working design.

But wait! After developing so many ideas and distilling so much research, shouldn’t such a project be shared with the greater public? To remedy this, the students created and proposed diverse modes of communication, using the edgy and engaging principles of Guerilla Marketing.