|
HACC projects inform community and visitors of the Urban Studio work HACC
students recently discussed possible uses and
locations for their portable kiosk projects at the
Harrisburg Urban Studio office in the Harrisburg
Transportation Center. "The kiosks the students create will inform Harrisburg citizens about the impact the Urban Studio will have in the community," Bruce Quigley, adjunct professor of architecture at HACC, said. "Our plan is to the design, develop and build these projects in time for the Harrisburg Arts Festival." Urban Kiosk II: A Design/Build Primer for the Harrisburg Urban Studio is the third and final studio assignment for Quigley's Architectural Design IV students. His students will design and build a series of integrated, portable buildings with a variety of functions. "We'll install the Urban Studio kiosks in Riverfront Park before and during the Arts Festival," Quigley added. "And then the kiosks will migrate around the city in different neighborhoods to raise awareness of the Harrisburg Urban Studio and help organize neighborhood to work more closely with the Studio." The project description directs the students to design "structures eye-catching and innovative in use of materials as well as easy to transport and assemble." During a charrette this month at the Harrisburg Urban Studio, located in the Harrisburg Transportation Center, HACC architect students determined they will build four kiosks, each emphasizing a different aspect of the impact of innovative architecture in the urban environment. Quigley says his class will work closely with city planners to determine temporary locations for the kiosks throughout the city. Urban Studio leaders are planning to integrate them into the communities where the Urban Studio will operate, as well as move the kiosks throughout the downtown area to raise awareness of the program. "We're considering moving the kiosks to high schools throughout suburban Harrisburg," Robert Philbin, Urban Studio coordinator, said. "The kiosks will inform the many talented high school design students throughout central Pennsylvania about internships with the Urban Studio, as well as Professor Quigley's architecture classes at HACC. " Philbin emphasized that local students can study architecture at HACC for two years, receive an Associate Science degree, as well as practical experience and mentoring through the Harrisburg Urban Studio, and then transfer to any one of the seven licensing schools of architecture in Pennsylvania to complete their studies. PSU School of Architecture, for example, has been actively involved in the Urban Studio project since its inception. Thousands of visitors to the Harrisburg Arts Festival will have the opportunity to learn about the Urban Studio. "Our goal is to provide a public service through our designs," Kevin Finnegan, a HACC second year architecture student, said. "Our kiosks will educate the public about the Urban Studio." Later this month, members of the Urban Studio's Architecture, Engineering and Construction Advisory Committees will review students' designs at the Urban Studio headquarters in the Harrisburg Transportation Center. The committees consist of progressive professionals from the Central Pennsylvania design-build community who volunteered to participate in the program. Quigley's class has been deeply involved with the Urban Studio this semester. Along with the current kiosk project they have designed various mixed uses for a vacant lot at 1212 Market Street and an abandoned Laundromat at 1701 N. Third St. They have submitted the designs to the City for review. This will be the final project in most of these students tenure at HACC; most plan to transfer to professional architecture programs at major universities. The Harrisburg Urban Studio is inspired by Auburn University's famous Rural Studio, a program that provides architectural students with a practical learning experience while enhancing the environment of disadvantaged communities. Mayor Stephen R. Reed initiated the Urban Studio during a live panel discussion aired by WITF in March of 2004. Pennsylvania's leading architecture colleges will send students to study, design and build in the Harrisburg Urban Studio. A number of architects, engineers, contractors and construction products firms are actively supporting the project. For further information contact Nathan Pigott, Hershey Philbin Associates, at npigott@hersheyphilbin.com or 717.975.2148. |
