Strong Themes Of Climate Action And Community Engagement Emerge At The Super Review
The fall semester School of Architecture Super Review focused on the upper-level research and design conducted in the Options Studios and Master of Urban Design studio. Notable was the predominance of Newark based studios and the questions on program identity and self reflection raised. Katherine Guimapang, one of Archinect’s staff writers, was a guest for the virtual event and held up the mirror to what she observed. Read that story here.
There has been a long standing practice by faculty to engage with partners in Newark, this year, more than ever, the products of established relationships, trust, and longevity, three of the critical ingredients that characterize the Newark Design Collaborative, were evident. This aligns with the research carried out by the student team this summer on what it takes to have a successful community design enterprise.
Taro Narahara’s studio on the other hand was based in Shenzhen, China, at Honeymoon Lake. Called Transformable Places: Integrating Architecture, Urban Places and Technology, he introduced it this way: “Our studio explores sustainable ways to respond to social and environmental issues in contemporary cities, such as increasing population, diversifying cultural values, and undergoing social-technological transformations.” One of the projects that highlighted an integration of those considerations was the MYCO factory by Reyne Bennett. View a full gallery of this innovative project here.
Justine Shapiro-Kleins’ studio Leading Towards a Post-Carbon Future showcased a vision of what a 2030 Green New Deal vision of South Street in Newark could look like.
Kevin Hoffman's studio was unique in that it was the only studio that address historic preservation. The studio focused on the James Street Commons at the request of the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.
Chris Gardner presented a reprise of his excellent studio ‘Radical Addenda’, where the challenge to students was to redesign the building code itself. Vera Parlac and Deane Evans both commented on the potential in that approach, Evans stating that, “Each project that I looked at had some provocative component to it. I thought it was an intriguing process.”
A story on Darius Sollohub’s Newark Penn Station studio can be read here. The story on the ‘Shelter in Place’ studio can be read here.
Studios participating in the Super Review:
