[bc] + UVA Community Design Partnership

Supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works grant, [bc] is partnering with the University of Virginia School of Architecture to train students in the practice of community-engaged, public interest design.

15 students enrolled in the semester-long Ecological Democracy class, a graduate planning course taught by Assistant Professor Barbara Brown-Wilson, will work with [bc]'s DC team to utilize community-engaged research and design methods to address a timely equitable development challenge.  Over the semester, students will build awareness of "the roles planning and design can play in supporting socio-economic vulnerable communities to increase their own social and ecological resilience."

[bc] and UVA are working with the nonprofit organization Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to develop strategies that help connect residents of the surrounding community to the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, a National Park though signage, way-finding and other physical interventions. 

In February, UVA students traveled to Washington, DC. Students, faculty, and [bc] staff visited Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens to gain insight from stakeholders, conduct a site documentation assignment, and learn about the history of the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood.

In March, [bc] visited the UVA campus to provide feedback on students' group presentations, which explored aspects of way-finding signage design, codes and regulations, mapping, and project coordinators. Check out our photos from these activities!

This partnership furthers [bc]'s efforts to advance the practice of public interest design through training and mentorship of designers and planners, while providing UVA students with experience learning from professionals in the field. 

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.