Blog #1: Pre-Project

My Hawken Project is a combination of me interning at the architecture firm of VOCON under the mentorship of Daniel McDonald, along with me working on my own independent project of designing a solution to the problem of affordable, sustainable housing within Northeast Ohio. I was inspired to work on this project due to my interest in architecture, as I plan to major in it in college. This interest came from taking the architecture macro, which drew me to a career in the framework of using architecture to uplift communities. Seeing how architecture can help people by creating positive spaces for people to live in the Architecture macro inspired me to pursue the field as a career. I hope my project can help me develop my architecture skills and perspective on how architecture is in the professional sphere. 

Before my project began, my mentor and I laid out a rough plan of how I planned to get to my final solution. I will first start off by researching different solutions to affordable, sustainable housing projects from across the globe. Through this, I can focus on what I want my project to be like and figure out what exactly works and doesn't work for my design challenge. Then I plan to focus in on sites in Cleveland where this can be implemented, specifically by looking at vacant lots of land that are at most an acre. From there, I plan to look at the local architecture, culture, and environment of the part of Cleveland I am working in to create something that benefits the community and assimilates easily into it. From there I plan to design a solution that best suits the basis of affordable, sustainable housing through a series of drawings and a 3D render through SketchUp.

Comments

  1. Maria SteinerMay 12, 2022 at 9:56 AM

    What a well thought out Hawken project! It'll be exciting to see how these plans come to fruition or how you adapt or pivot should things take you in a different direction. Can't wait to hear more!

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