Congratulations to the Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS), recipient of two awards from AIA Pittsburgh during the annual Design Pittsburgh 2018 event held this past week. These awards, now added to the numerous AIA honors the UDBS has earned over the past decade, are a testament to the skill, talent, and dedication of the UDBS students involved in these projects, as well as the dedication of its supporters and stakeholders.
The UDBS’ REACH project won an Honor Award in the Design + Innovation category. REACH is a mass-produced, mobile classroom for a local nonprofit specializing in humanitarian computer outreach. The REACH cart is deployed to Carnegie Library locations throughout the greater Pittsburgh region to facilitate computer literacy courses targeting low-income and elderly residents. The UDBS’ OV COURSE project earned a Certificate of Merit in the Design + Innovation category of the annual design competition. OV COURSE is an initiative seeking to address issues of food access, entrepreneurship/economic opportunity, and community interaction in Pittsburgh through the design, production, and implementation of pre-fabricated, mass-produced community ovens used for baking bread and pizza. Learn more about the projects below.
To view the complete list of winners from Design Pittsburgh 2018, visit the AIA Pittsburgh website, and check out news coverage of the award winners from NEXT Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Business Times.
UDBS’ REACH project, winner of an Honor Award in the Design and Innovation category in the 2018 AIA Pittsburgh Design Pittsburgh competition. Photos courtesy of Urban Design Build Studio.
DESIGN + INNOVATION: Honor Award
Project: REACH
Client: Computer Reach
Architecture Firm: Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS)
Contractor: PROJECT RE_
Photographer: UDBS
Consultants: Computer Reach, Standard & Custom
REACH is a mass-produced, mobile classroom for a local non-profit specializing in humanitarian computer outreach. The REACH cart is deployed to Carnegie Library locations throughout the greater Pittsburgh region to facilitate computer literacy courses targeting low-income and elderly residents. Housing all of the equipment needed for the classes, the REACH cart is essentially a classroom in a box, allowing any space larger than 9 feet by 18 feet to be quickly turned into a learning center for eight students.
JURY COMMENTS: REACH provides low-income and elderly residents in the Pittsburgh region with basic computer skills. The design of the cart is predicated on requirements of function, accessibility, and aesthetics. This project has great prototyping and branding. It’s often hard to figure stuff like this out and this project fits a lot into one box and is scalable. It is a great reuse of existing materials and is extremely well presented with excellent graphics.
UDBS’ OV Course project, winner of a Certificate of Merit in the Design and Innovation category in the 2018 AIA Pittsburgh Design Pittsburgh competition. Photos courtesy of Urban Design Build Studio.
DESIGN + INNOVATION: Certificate of Merit
Project: OV Course
Client: PROJECT RE_ Entrepreneur-in-Training (EIT) Program
Architecture Firm: Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS)
Contractor: PROJECT RE_
Photographer: UDBS
Consultants: Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, Construction Junction
OV COURSE is an initiative seeking to address issues of food access, entrepreneurship / economic opportunity, and community interaction in Pittsburgh through the design, production, and implementation of pre-fabricated, mass-produced community ovens for the baking of bread and pizza. As a strategic intervention into an existing context, OV COURSE aspires to increase access to healthy, affordable food for individuals in under-represented communities in Pittsburgh 1) directly by serving as a new source for food and 2) indirectly by facilitating job skills training and entrepreneurship opportunities that elevate one’s prospects for building wealth. Additionally, OV COURSE aspires to take advantage of the opportunity to enhance community interaction and pride through the creation of place-specific spaces centered on the act of breaking bread.
JURY COMMENTS: This project uses architecture and design to fill an extremely important need of providing food for individuals in under-represented communities. It aspires to take advantage of the opportunity to enhance community interaction and pride through the creation of place-specific spaces centered on the act of breaking bread. The function of the oven and ergonomics of using it is represented in an interesting form. It’s both fun and functional. Furthering the connection to the Pittsburgh community, materials incorporated into the ovens are sourced from regional deconstruction projects.