APPROACH
As part of my master's thesis project, I am reflecting on the broader process, prior to starting a typical set of architectural drawings.
I am seeking to understand how a community can be better part of the design process at an earlier stage. After imagining and attending public workshops, this website is a journal. It narrates my *attempt* in involving a community in the architectural field. Every step, encounter and lesson learnt is detailed, to inform whoever would also like to do co-design.
The site︎︎︎ I chose in the difficult area of Little Burgundy (Montreal), is a lever to help me research these social topics. Where many residents rely on community centers’ services, I integrated an already well-organized support network. There, I was able to make field-based observations and monitor the ups and downs of community participation, which helped me rethink architectural workflows.
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Motivated to give a voice to those in need and co-create with heterogeneous groups, I wish to learn more about planning architectural workshops︎︎︎. I hope to unite creative individuals of Little-Burgundy (Montreal) through workshops and help them express their desires for the future of this empoverished area. This includes (1) understanding how to mobilize a community towards architectural practices and making it more accessible to the public. (2) Testing out experimental design tools in real workshops. Receiving feedback about those tools and from the users’ experience.
WHAT INITIATED THAT TOPIC?
The year before my thesis project, I discovered the Little-Burgundy area through another studio I had participated in, called ‘memory and future, architecture of community space’.
Our focus was the former NCC site (Negro Community Center), the heart of the Montreal Black Community, desmolished in 2014. We were part of a research and consultation process with the community, which was led by instructors and professionals.
From the workshops and consultation, we then had to express an accurate sense of place and portray the community through drawings. I was introduced to the concepts of ‘narratives’ and ‘memory work’ in architecture, which helped us create a patchwork of information about (1) the site, (2) the people, and (3) the memories.
This resulted in a proposed architectural program that could reactivate the abandoned NCC site. My proposed project was called ‘Play’. I built a working model that could be used as a tool during workshops. The movable modules on the model helped to imagine the future layout of the site. This sparked an interest in me about participation tools in architecture, which I decided to dig further during my thesis project.
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I am seeking to understand how a community can be better part of the design process at an earlier stage. After imagining and attending public workshops, this website is a journal. It narrates my *attempt* in involving a community in the architectural field. Every step, encounter and lesson learnt is detailed, to inform whoever would also like to do co-design.
The site︎︎︎ I chose in the difficult area of Little Burgundy (Montreal), is a lever to help me research these social topics. Where many residents rely on community centers’ services, I integrated an already well-organized support network. There, I was able to make field-based observations and monitor the ups and downs of community participation, which helped me rethink architectural workflows.
MANIFESTO︎︎︎
RESEARCH QUESTIONS︎︎︎
GOALS
Motivated to give a voice to those in need and co-create with heterogeneous groups, I wish to learn more about planning architectural workshops︎︎︎. I hope to unite creative individuals of Little-Burgundy (Montreal) through workshops and help them express their desires for the future of this empoverished area. This includes (1) understanding how to mobilize a community towards architectural practices and making it more accessible to the public. (2) Testing out experimental design tools in real workshops. Receiving feedback about those tools and from the users’ experience.
WHAT INITIATED THAT TOPIC?
The year before my thesis project, I discovered the Little-Burgundy area through another studio I had participated in, called ‘memory and future, architecture of community space’.
Our focus was the former NCC site (Negro Community Center), the heart of the Montreal Black Community, desmolished in 2014. We were part of a research and consultation process with the community, which was led by instructors and professionals.
From the workshops and consultation, we then had to express an accurate sense of place and portray the community through drawings. I was introduced to the concepts of ‘narratives’ and ‘memory work’ in architecture, which helped us create a patchwork of information about (1) the site, (2) the people, and (3) the memories.
This resulted in a proposed architectural program that could reactivate the abandoned NCC site. My proposed project was called ‘Play’. I built a working model that could be used as a tool during workshops. The movable modules on the model helped to imagine the future layout of the site. This sparked an interest in me about participation tools in architecture, which I decided to dig further during my thesis project.
Keywords:
Co-design, participation tools, marginalized communities
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
KATIA BROZ
2024