Abstract
In Fall 2024, two faculty members co-developed and led an Integrated Design Studio (IDS) that brought together Architecture and Interior Design studios in collaboration with the Civic Design Center, a local developer, professional architecture firms, and local government officials to support a student project envisioning the adaptive reuse of a vacant historic church building in the Cleveland Park community of Nashville, Tennessee - one of Nashville’s first established African American communities. Rooted in cross-disciplinary design thinking, the IDS course challenged students to collaboratively engage with the historical, sociological, cultural, economic, and political contexts that inform the built environment. Teams developed proposals for community-identified programs including a neighborhood library, an art gallery dedicated to a local African American artist, and community gathering spaces; amenities identified as vital by residents seeking to maintain community identity amid rapid gentrification. By situating cross-disciplinary collaboration at the core of the design process, the studio advanced design thinking as an integrative methodology for inquiry, advocacy, and professional practice. Students were challenged to synthesize diverse perspectives, cultivate empathy-driven architectural responses, and understand how design decisions impact social and environmental resilience. This paper examines the project’s unique pedagogical structure, its community partnerships, methodologies, and outcomes as a case study in embedding community-focused, cross-disciplinary design thinking within design education. Further, the IDS model illustrates how academic, professional, and community collaborations can serve as catalysts for learning.
Presenters
Anthony MonicaAssistant Professor of Achitecture, O'More College of Architecture and Design, Belmont University - Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Architecture, Design, Collaboration, Social Impact, Public Construction, Adaptive Reuse, Community
