Architecture
& Advocacy
Community
Charrettes
HOW IT STARTED
December 2020, a group of students from student organizations at the USC School of Architecture (Abri Aiken, Katie Hayes, Abri Aiken, Justin Wan, Darwin Hu, and Erin Light) received a $10,000 Grant from Arts in Action to produce Community Design Charrettes focused on increasing representation of systematically marginalized communities in design professions. We worked with LA Commons and 30 Youth Artists for 4 weeks, utilizing design as a tool towards positive social change in their communities. Follow us here on our journey through the charrette process!
Art from local youth artist!
Youth Artists Picking up their supplies.
THE PROCESS
After receiving this amazing Grant, we immediately started preparing for our Design Charrettes by Lesson Planning and bringing more volunteers onto the team!
We had 20+ people apply to join the team as Course Leaders for the community Charrettes! We are so excited to have participation among undergraduate and graduate students in order to give a variety of insight and knowledge to the students!
The overall goal of these workshops is to help students develop a design voice, using their art skills to ‘hear themselves more clearly through the medium of architectural design.’ The Youth Artists will begin to think spatially about the built environment, as well as further their problem solving skills when it comes to benefiting their community. Mental Health and wellness of themselves and their communities are key through this process.
THE PROGRAM
Week 1 - Emotion: Sketch Models
Students will begin to think architecturally by spatially creating their emotions
Week 2 - Dream: “Architectural” Drawings
Students will begin to design solutions to problems in their everyday lives.
Week 3 - Bridge: Collage
Students will now use their problem solving skills in an architectural sense as they start to think about their communities.
Week 4 - Creation: All Mediums
Students will synthesize the three previous lessons into one design for the solution to a problem in their community.
Our Students sharing their Week 2 "Dream" sketches of solutions to problems in their lives.
COMMUNITY CHARETTE
Students were tasked to design a change they wished to see in their communities. Kimberly decided to design a homeless shelter in her community and chose vibrant colors to communicate her ideas. Other students choose to create community gardens, cultural parks, inclusive park benched, inclusive bathroom stalls, affordable housing, and museums.
