Newswise — A once-popular Puerto Rican tourist destination in need of revitalization is a test-case for a small architecture project that student designers and their professor hope will pave the way for large-scale community improvements.
The project, a modular beach pavilion, is the culmination of an architecture professor's new elective course, Social Impact Design, at New York Institute of Technology's School of Architecture & Design. Assistant Professor Farzana Gandhi created the course to introduce students to what she says is a growing subset of the design profession.
"Social impact design is increasingly gaining relevance in both academia and practice," says Gandhi. "It's kind of like what sustainability as a 'buzz' word was about ten years ago; it's not a new idea - it's a centuries-old idea but it's gaining traction simply because of the economic conditions we've recently faced. The economic restraints actually allow us to practice with more social and environmentally-conscious practices in mind."
The project, known as "Contorno," is a series of connected wooden modules that serve as an information kiosk, changing room facility, and social picnic space for beach visitors in Culebra, Puerto Rico. The current facilities, built in 1983, are rundown, uninviting, and unsuitable for a beach that was once a popular tourist destination.
"It's elegant and quite nice," says Gandhi. "Showing the community you can do so much with so little is something that can inspire folks to fundraise or to approach higher powers to really start to clean up the area. Oftentimes, social impact design is a small catalyst that can inspire impact not only at an architectural scale but also on a larger economic and infrastructure level. This is an area that could benefit so much if its facilities were improved."
Gandhi is leading the project with a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico. Students from both schools participated in video conference meetings to analyze the beach site, discuss community information, and develop schematic approaches for a new pavilion. The NYIT students raised more than $1,100 for building materials through bake sales and other activities. Over the Thanksgiving holiday break, they traveled to the University of Puerto Rico to begin building the pavilion; the students from University of Puerto Rico will soon complete the structure and deliver it by ferry to the beach.
About NYITNew York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 12,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team. Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, nearly 100,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu. Contact:Elaine IandoliOffice of Communications516.686.4013
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