The comm[UNITY] behind Design

Since I was in Middle school I have spent countless hours dreaming of these make believe houses and buildings and the people that would inhabit them.  I also spent hours doing a ton of community service in my community of Carlisle, PA and other areas around the country.  I spent a month in New Orleans right after Katrina.  I built a church in Canada.  I volunteered multiple times building houses with Habitat for Humanity in South Carolina, and countless more.  So I've always carried this passion for helping others and it only makes sense that I would combine that passion with my passion for design.  After spending last semester starting and working with the Global Studio project, I found that maybe this could possibly be my calling.  I purchased a book a while ago titled "Design like you give a damn."  Architects for Humanity edited and published the book, which showcases community design projects all over the globe.  I researched several types of community projects including a studio project at Auburn University.  This studio has taken on the role of improving the living conditions of residents living in Masons Bend, Alabama.  They recently built the "lucy House" which is made of 24,000 stacked carpet tiles donated by Interface.

            I also researched emergency shelters such as the Concrete Canvas Bag designed by Peter Brewin and William Crawford.  It is essentially a "building in a bag."

I then looked a product design and found the UNbathroom which i found very interesting.  
I looked at the history of humans response to natural and man made disasters and different organizations such as Architects for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity, and the Make it Right Foundation.  All of these organizations have taken on the initiative to improve our response to disasters.
            As designers and architects we have studied the history of our profession and have witnessed multiple “design revolutions.”  What is great about being a designer today is that we are a product of a revolution.  A “green” revolution has evolved out of our awareness of Global Warming and the rise in natural disasters that have taken place in the past decade.  All of these disasters have forced designers to not only design “green” but to focus more on community-based design.  We live in a world that is constantly changing.  Governments are being overthrown, awareness is being raised on poverty, child abuse, and countless more issues that have gone for years unnoticed.  The world is a much bigger place than the city, town, or state we live in.  It’s important that we broaden our vision of who we are designing for, how we’re designing, and the lives our spaces will impact.