One of the most important aspects of our work has been to give students a chance to apply classroom learning to real-life situations.  The first real opportunity to do this arose as part of a studio in which architecture students were given the task of designing affordable homes for first-time homebuyers in Coconut Grove.  At the beginning of the studio, a local developer and builder of simple homes had been drawn into the effort as technical advisor.  But the developer eventually suggested that if the students could design a three-bedroom, two-bath home that was 15 feet wide and totaled a maximum of 1,400 square feet, he might be able to build the design on a site where he was already committed to produce a house.

The students who opted for this project were introduced to the community by preparing maps which presented the conditions, uses, historical value, and utility of the buildings and properties in the neighborhood.  Through this exercise, they observed firsthand how prevalent vernacular shotgun houses were in the area, and how “the Grove” was defined by a high level of social interaction on its streets and sidewalks.  These observations would become important ingredients and measures for the houses they would design.

After mapping the assets of the existing neighborhood, the students were given the program for the house.  As work progressed, their designs incorporated its interior requirements.  But as a result of their research in the neighborhood, they also placed considerable emphasis on the building’s relationship to the yard and the street.  Indeed, during design reviews, which were conducted with members of the community, the street frontage (the “outgoing” part of the dwelling), received the most attention.

The most successful of the designs, that for a two-story shotgun house, was designed by a team of four students.  They were thrilled to hear that their design would take concrete shape before they graduated.  The house design had been produced during the period of one semester (Fall), toward the end of which a local architect had begun advising the students on how to amend their drawings to include systems of plumbing, lighting and wiring, ventilation and structure.  But during the winter vacation, the drawings for the house design that was to be built progressed further as the students took responsibility for pushing the drawings through city’s permit-approval process and making the changes required by plan checkers.  Eventually, in late February, their frustration turned to delight as the house received the necessary permits.

In the Spring semester, the developer allowed the students to provide the labor and supervision for the construction of the house.  Many other students joined in to help build the house, and the sight of construction dirt in the classroom added a new dimension to work at the School of Architecture.

Balancing wheelbarrows full of concrete to pour the foundation was a new experience to the students involved.  On the brink of graduating with Bachelor of Architecture degrees, they were actually experiencing the materials and methods, sweat and grime, of making a building.  The lessons learned would be indelible, and the building left behind would stand as a testament of these young people’s commitment to this community.

At the same time, the university began to experience benefits from its effort to make such a project possible.  And one of the more significant demonstrations of the breaking down of barriers this project promoted was the decision by the very students whose house design was built to purchase two properties in the neighborhood for their own use.