|
Phoebe Crisman, associate
professor of architecture at the University of Virginia, has been selected
as a 2008 recipient of the American Institute of Architects Education Honor
Award for her work on the "Learning Barge," a floating ecological classroom
set to be launched on Virginia's polluted Elizabeth River.
The Education Honor Awards
program, created in 1988, recognizes collegiate faculty achievements and
contributions to education and to the discipline of architecture. The awards
will be presented in May during the AIA National Convention in Boston.
In conjunction with the Elizabeth River Project, an environmental nonprofit
focused on improving the conditions of the river, plus community partners
and professionals and U.Va. students, Crisman developed the idea of a
self-sustaining, buoyant Learning Barge to bridge the current disconnect
between the Elizabeth River, one of the most contaminated rivers in the
United States, and community members in Norfolk and surrounding counties,
who are often isolated from the river because much of its shoreline is
controlled by industrial and military interests. The 120-by-32-foot barge
promises to give both students and community members the opportunity to
study an unfiltered version of a real marine ecosystem
and understand their place within it.
"This has been an amazing opportunity for students to
connect
with a range of people with whom they might never have
interacted," said Crisman. "It's has been rather stunning to see the way
that the students have stepped up to the challenge and gone beyond what I
thought they could do."
The vessel, a collaborative
research, design
and fabrication initiative of students from in architecture, engineering,
landscape architecture, education, art and history, incorporates research
and sustainable design principles to promote environmental education. The
floating field station is powered by solar and wind energy, collects
rainwater, filters gray water with native plants and utilizes recycled and
renewable materials.
Crisman has cited several
objectives for architectural education, including making a positive
difference through design by connecting students with real communities that
would not have access to design services; fostering a commitment to
environmental ethics and deep, hands-on knowledge of green strategies at the
architectural and urban scales; linking that awareness to formal and
aesthetic research; and helping students connect their design education and
daily lives as responsible citizens of their local and broader community.
The integrated educational component for K-12 schoolchildren offers
opportunities to experience the river firsthand and engage in hands-on
exploration and learning. Its mobility allows it to travel every few months
to areas undergoing current environmental initiatives – allowing its
passengers to observe oyster restoration efforts, wetland plantings or
remediation of contaminated sediments.
According to Crisman, the
prefabricated components will be constructed in Charlottesville this spring
for eventual installation on the barge.
Even before it hits the
water, the barge has received a raft of awards, including recognition from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards, the American Society of Landscape
Architects and the James River Green Building Council
and the
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.
It has also received
financial support from
the Virginia Environmental Foundation,
the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.Va. School of Architecture's
Public Service Fellowship Program and the U.Va. School of Architecture
Foundation.
For more information, visit these links:
|
