SFI7
Last Saturday artist Michael Blackwell (pictured here left at the UMC) and Joe Robinson (pictured below with Lawernce Cann and Linda Samuels at SFI7) traveled a short ways to UNCC for the “Structures for Inclusion Conference” at the College of Architecture. The conference website reads: Each year, Design Corps, in association with a local nonprofit organization or school, hosts its Structures for Inclusion (SFI) conference. Each SFI uniquely exposes attendees to both pathways to pursue alternative community-based work as well as evidence of the impact or influence of such work. From its inception in 2000, the dual mission of SFI has consistently been 1) to showcase design efforts that reach out to and serve a diverse clientele, and 2) to provide information on alternative career paths available to students and young designers. Las year the conference was hosted by Public Architecutre and Urban Ecology Institute in San Fransisco. http://www.designcorps.org/SFI_Conference.htm
The theme for this year was “High Impact: Positive Change Through Design/Build,” SFI7 will focus on the growing interest in design/build as both an academic and a professional methodology.
In addition to being part of Linda Samuels Presentation which described her activism work through the Mobile Studio and our current project at the Urban Ministry Center, Joe Rob and Michael attened sessions by the following groups (just some of the many presenters--see the center photo from the Museumof the Mardi Gras Indian whose director spoke about post Katrina reconstruction).
Steve Badanes is nationally recognized for designing and building innovative projects--from homes to playgrounds to public sculptures. He is an expert on energy-efficient building techniques and speaks on the social responsibilities of architects and the role of architecture in building communities. Steve is a founder of Jersey Devil, an architectural firm comprised of skilled craftsmen, architects, inventors, and artists "committed to the interdependence of building and design." Jersey Devil architects/builders live on-site during construction of their designs, which are known for energy-efficiency and innovative use of materials. At the University of Washington, Steve holds the Howard Wright Endowed Chair and leads design/build studios that have focused on community service projects for nonprofit organizations in the Seattle area. Steve attended Wesleyan University for undergraduate studies and Princeton University, where he received his Master of Architecture. Heavy Trash is an anonymous arts organization of architects, artists, and urban planners, Heavy Trash creates large, disposable art objects that draw community and media attention to specific urban issues. By explaining a particular urban problem and suggesting a solution, Heavy Trash seeks to provoke dialogue among citizens. Heavy Trash's work has attracted local and national media, ranging from The Los Angeles Times to The New York Times and Adbusters. Patrick Rhodes, in 2001, formed Project Locus, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, to design and build community structures in areas of need, and to develop his growing interest in teaching. Since that time, he has worked in communities across the country including Los Angeles, Boston and Baltimore and has worked with design professionals, students and academic institutions across the country. After Hurricane Katrina, Patrick began working through Project Locus in New Orleans to aid in the rebuilding process. During the summer of 2006 with 35 student volunteers, he designed and built the House of Dance and Feathers Mardi Gras Indian Museum and Community Center in the Lower Ninth Ward. Now teaching at Tulane University, Patrick will continue his work in New Orleans and elsewhere through engaging students in the development and construction of spaces in poor and underserved communities. Patrick is a 1996 graduate of the University of Florida architecture program, and earned his Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1999. Ronald Lewis is the founder of Tupelo Street Neighborhood Association, established in 1992 to maintain the quality of life and upkeep of the neighborhood. Ron is also a Folk/Traditional Craft Artist in the Social and Pleasure Club Tradition, an historian and a youth educator specializing in hands-on and visual teaching methods. In 2003 he founded the "House of Dance & Feathers" neighborhood museum and educational resource center for cultural history of Social and Pleasure Clubs and Mardi Gras Indians, Lower-Ninth Ward Neighborhood History, and Musical history. In 2004, he was awarded both a Certificate of Appreciation and Congressional Recognition, "in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community, from William Jefferson and a Certificate of Merit from the New Orleans City Council. Justin Lee worked for various architectural offices in New York and Boston before joining the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genova, Italy, in 2005. He has worked on the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Port Development Project in Oslo and the Trans National Place in Boston. He collaborated with the MIT Media Lab (Senseable City Laboratory) on the Tsunami Safe(r) Project on the design of the Tsunami Safe(r) House and participated in the research trip to Sri Lanka in the summer 2005 to research the post tsunami conditions and oversee the construction of the Tsunami Safe(r) House prototype. Born in Hong Kong in 1975, Justin earned his Bachelor of Arts with honors in studio arts from Wesleyan University in 1999, and his Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2004.
