Introduction | Schools | Community Partners | Support | Resources | Contact
University of Arkansas
School of Architecture
Boston Architectural College
School of Landscape Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology
College of Architecture
University of Kansas
School of Architecture and Urban Design
University of Kentucky
School of Architecture
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
University of Minnesota
School of Architecture
University of Montana
Environmental Studies Program
University of Southern
California
School of Policy, Planning, and Development
University of Texas at Arlington
School of Architecture
University of Texas at Austin
School of Architecture
Tulane University
School of Architecture
Washington University
College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Wentworth Institute of
Technology
Department of Architecture
The People’s Environmental Center
Treme, New Orleans Sixth Ward
Community Partner: Ujamaa Community Development Corporation and the People’s Environmental Center
CITYbuild School: Wentworth Institute of Technology Department of Architecture
In partnership with Ujamaa Community Development Corporation and the People’s Environmental Center, Wentworth Architecture has begun developing an environmental education center for the Treme neighborhood. Proposed for Ujamaa Square, the People’s Environmental Center and Demonstration Garden will be a repository of information and resources for the local community to test soil and water samples and to learn about environmental hazards and methods of remediation. Wentworth is currently finalizing design ideas, researching environmental concerns, and fundraising for the first phase of the project, a remediation demonstration garden.
Image: Design proposal for the People's Environmental Center by Blaine Abaray and Darin Barnes
Second-Year Spring 2006 Studio
Site/Context
The Treme neighborhood is northwest of the French Quarter and primarily a residential neighborhood. Ujamaa Square is one of very few open green spaces in the area. The 87,000 sq. ft. urban site contains the Ujamaa Activity Center, St. Ann Shrine, St. Ann Apartments, two abandoned Head Start buildings, an abandoned two-story house, and a caretaker’s house.
Services Provided
The project encompasses master planning, landscape design, and architectural design. Initial discussions held at a design charrette in New Orleans in March 2006 focused on master planning the area surrounding Ujamaa Square. Students in a spring semester studio prepared architectural designs for the environmental center and landscape designs for the Square. A summer studio developed the environmental center further.
Timeline
An initial meeting of collaborators was held in January 2006. During a spring break trip to New Orleans, Wentworth students cleared the project site, gutted an abandoned building, participated in bioremediation training, documented the local neighborhood, and held a community charette. Initial design proposals for the project site were presented to the clients in Boston at the end of April 2006. Further development occurred in a second studio over the summer.
Funding and Support
Wentworth’s work in New Orleans has been funded in part by a Boston Society of Architects Research Grant, Wentworth’s Center for Community and Learning Partnerships, and travel grants from the institute’s President. Students and faculty continue fundraising this fall in order to return in January and March 2007 to construct the remediation garden.
Contact
Prof. Lora Kim kiml1@wit.edu
Prof. Beth Gibb gibbe@wit.edu
Prof. Mark Pasnik pasnikm@wit.edu
Additional Resources
Center for Community Partnerships and Learning Blog
Wentworth Institute of Technology