We’re coming to you early this week with big news. Episode 1 is now live. Listen on any of your favorite platforms:
Or watch on YouTube, for the full visual experience:
This episode provides an overview of seven environmentally visionary architectural projects recently completed by master’s thesis students at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, Preservation & Real Estate, to explore how good design can build hope in a world facing a climate emergency.
Episode 2 features Ava Omidvar and Juhi Goel. Both are committed to designing for resilience in the face of the certain disruptions of climate change. Ava tested her theory that even something as solid and weighty as a building can adapt to changing conditions such as extreme heat, urban flooding and unstable energy production. Juhi proposed a building that acts as a carbon sink and demonstrates earth-aligned ways to live, even in a dense city.
In Episode 3, we meet Melonee Quintanilla and Jemimah Asamoah. Melonie’s thesis sought to redress the underfunding of public infrastructure in majority Black communities, exacerbated by disenfranchisement, redlining, ‘slum’ clearance, and systemic racism. Working closely with community representatives, she designed a school that celebrates the shared history and culture of Baltimore’s Harlem Park.
Jemimah Asamoah designed a waterfront park and community center along the Potomac River to serve D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood. Her thesis used Biophilia as a design tool to repair human-nature relationships and foster community resilience.
Episode 4 continues the theme of environmental justice with Jazmin Inoa and Leah Clark. Jazmin dug to the foundations of the rich, largely forgotten history of her site in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. and discovered its identity as part of a greater history of Black people in that area. Leah’s project demonstrated how architecture can be used to alleviate the pervasive, interlinked problems of lot vacancy and homelessness in west Baltimore.
In Episode 5, we witness the power of moving away from giving answers and toward asking questions. For his project, Christian Romero worked in creative ways with community members to propose innovative affordable housing for the village of Guisquil in his native El Salvador, where his grandmother lives.
Finally, we wrap up the season with a town hall in Episode 6, a chance for current students to ask three of our podcast guests how they are living their eco-values in the professional world of clients, schedules, and budgets.
This project is supported by a Faculty-Student Research Award from the Graduate School, University of Maryland, as well as grants from the University’s Sustainability Fund and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation.