The fourth-year architectural design studio considers the building in its urban context. Students begin with the analysis of an urban situation and then move to a large-scale urban “master plan” developed in small groups. From here, individual students continue the ideas presented in their master plan by focusing on a building or small ensemble within the larger scheme.
In the Spring of 2011, nine students developed ideas for Lewistown, Pennsylvania, a proud town once dominated by a viscose plant that closed after major flooding in 1972. The students were asked to develop scenarios for reusing the plant’s industrial facilities with programs that would help strengthen Lewistown’s economic base and ultimately, its future identity. Three master plans explored Lewistown’s potential as a hub for outdoor recreation, as a site for scientific and technological research, and as a town capitalizing on the lush beauty of its waterways. The individual building projects within these master plans ranged from high-density housing to transportation facilities, to sites for recreation and leisure.