Catalytic Insertions
A catalyst stimulates, precipitates, sparks, incites and spurs further action. This strategy of catalytic insertions plans for small design interventions that have the potential for huge changes. The design proposals are nimble and tactical. They are small-scale and piecemeal interventions that may be appropriated by individuals or groups. Catalytic insertions are flexible because they accommodate different kinds of uses and interpretations. Their inherent flexibility makes these designs resilient and adaptable to multiple stakeholders.
Kasey King sees ecological habitats as catalytic spaces. Such habitats enhance local flora and fauna, generate alternate sources of income, reproduce beautiful landscapes, and restore neighborhood health. Michael Babbitts sees food and food-related practices as catalytic forces that bring neighbors and strangers together, create healthy communities, and produce economic opportunities. Milan Outlaw examines how space itself can become a catalyst for social interaction. She explores how empty lots, in-between spaces, transition zones, and alleys may generate new ideas, encourage new forms of social life and enhance social and economic value. Let us know if you agree. Click here to send us your feedback. |
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Restoring nature and teaching community members about ecology is a community-based activity as it relates to a larger goal and relies on the community to further ecological development. The community members I have engaged in conversations with are Ms. Rosalind Cox, Mr. CC, and Ms. Michaela Moelter. Each gave me critical advice to consider while I was designing my project. Having advice from two residents who live within the Washington Park community and one knowledgeable in the landscape design gave me useful perspectives of what should be considered when designing for private and public paths. Ms. Cox told me about the history of her block that she has lived on for twenty years. She works with a local school to create urban gardens in the open lot near her house, and has future plans to create a communal stage for children to use for artwork and concerts. Ms. Cox gave advice for what areas of the neighborhood needed renewal, and saw the long-term importance of my project. She encouraged the ecological education that my project seeks to give.
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What
does it mean to be a citizen-architect? The simple title of this course
mandates introspectively asking this question. After years of education and
professional experience, the answer seems almost obvious, but still the concept
is not often thought about: architecture is a service industry. A client
decides that the built environment as it exists no longer services their needs,
and it is either time to repurpose existing space or time to invest in the
process of designing a custom-built solution to their specific spatial problem.
Regardless of whether the project is a house, industrial manufacturing facility,
or a 60-story condo, an architect’s clients are almost exclusively of the class
that has recently been named “the one percent.” Designing and building a
structure is an enormous investment, and as such it is often outside the price ability
of the general public. To be a citizen-architect is to go against this trend by
putting an architect’s unique skill set to work by helping the general public
and the other 99% of the world.
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According to Rachel Minnery, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, in The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, 15th Edition an architect that works towards promoting and fostering public interest design “believes that buildings influence people's lives, that people influence the design of buildings, and that architects are accountable for the impact of their work on people and the environment.” According to the handbook, architecture that emphasizes the interest of the public caters to the common good and uses architecture and design as tools to help ease social, economic, and environmental issues, particularly in overlooked and under-heard communities. Architects and designers that attempt to address such issues do so through advocating for equality, justice, diversity, participatory design making, placed based solutions, a high quality of life, and design excellence, amongst other necessary approaches.
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