MAKING CITIES MICHAEL DUDDY JASON MONTGOMERY This studio combines two City Tech initiatives intended to integrate the pedagogy of the Architectural Technology Department with the larger resources offered by the College and New York City. The first initiative, sponsored by the dean of the School, asks students to investigate design solutions that directly address community-related needs; the second initiative evolves from the Living Lab program at City Tech that promotes the integration of general education learning outcomes with the technical training objectives of the College. This year’s project, a master plan for the Brooklyn waterfront adjacent to Industry City in Sunset Park, proposed to implement both initiatives by setting the following objectives: • Develop a strong understanding of methods and principles needed to approach large-scale urban master planning. • Engage resources within the College but outside the Department. • Experience place-based learning to develop confidence in navigating the world outside the classroom. • Learn to actively listen and respond to a client. • Learn to work both individually and in groups. • Use the OpenLab (and other forums) as an integral tool for sharing, communicating, and reflecting. • Execute a capstone-type project that culminates the architectural technology curriculum THE PROCESS A project on the scale of an urban master plan with the additional challenge of accommodating the specific needs of a client suggested a five-step strategy: observation, understanding, engagement, implementation, and most important, reflection. It was clear from the outset that the complexity of designing at both a vast urban scale and at the more intimate scale of a building would require a process tailored to a measured construction of input and criticism. 48
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