Congratulations to the Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS) team led by Associate Professor John Folan, recipients of two 2017-2018 Collaborative Practice Awards from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for the projects CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS and NavADAPT LAB.
Each year, ACSA honors architectural educators for exemplary work in areas such as building design, community collaborations, scholarship, and service. Award winners inspire and challenge students, contribute to the profession’s knowledge base, and extend their work beyond the borders of academy into practice and the public sector.
For those attending the 106th ACSA Annual Meeting in Denver this month, be sure to check out the session featuring the winning teams at 2:30pm on Saturday 17 March on the North Convention Platform.
Read more about UDBS’ winning submissions at the links bellow:
CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS: The CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS Studio leverages the specialized assets of a diverse ensemble of actors to restore the childhood home of world-renowned playwright August Wilson located in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. In jeopardy of being lost due to decades of neglect, this culturally significant structure is the focus of a community driven effort to establish a new cultural hub providing programming and education in the arts for youth and adults.
NavADAPT LAB: The NavADAPT LAB Studio explored the design of adaptive environments for underserved populations with sensory, intellectual, and/or limited physical disabilities in the Allegheny County region of Pennsylvania. Its focus was on collaborative development of reality computing applications in a residential context, with a specific focus on the kitchen. The overarching aspiration was to move beyond an environment that is merely smart to one that is actively adapted/augmented toward its inhabitant’s needs and capabilities. Work advanced through the construction of prototypes at three scales – furniture, the room, and the home. Each component established a human centered context for the next, informed by a nuanced understanding of ergonomics and the human body.