Ideas for Design Projects in Architecture Schooll
Architects are trained licensed professionals who specialize in the art, science and design and construction of buildings and structures. Architects may also design the environment that the building fits in and the furniture that goes in that building. Architectural students study art, history, material science, engineering and physics. They also are involved with architectural projects.
Auburn University's Rural Studio
In 1992, two Auburn university professors, Dennis Ruth and Samuel Mockbee, established the Rural Studio. Since 1993, Rural Studio has built over 80 projects. In Hale, County, one of the poorest communities in the United States, the architectural students built the studio's first house's walls from hay bales. They used worn-out tires for a chapel's walls, Chevy Caprice windshields for a community center's roof and corrugated cardboard for a one-room building. In 2005-2006, the Rural Studio built an animal shelter from lumber and aluminum, a cedar pavilion with aluminum roof, a covered bridge with a tin roof in Perry Lakes Park.
United States Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011
Every two years since 2005, The United States Department of Energy has held the award-winning Solar Decathlon. Each college team has to design, build and operate a beautiful solar-powered home that saves money and energy. The University of Maryland won with the WaterShed in 2011.
The idea for the WaterShed was inspired by Maryland's Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem. WaterShed is a solar-powered home made of interacting systems that harvest, recycle and reuse water. WaterShed's many features include a split-butterfly roof that catches sunlight and rainwater and a garden wall that recycles carbon. The time-tested durable structure is energy efficient and cost-effective.
Africa's Promise Village School
In January 2011, University of Texas's architecture professor, Michael Garrison, asked his graduate students to design a school for the children in the Massai villages in Tanzania, Africa. It will have 10 classrooms, serve 400 students and will be made of compressed grass and sand. The central breezeway that connects the two L-shaped classrooms will allow for ventilation and light. Massai has no electricity. Large containers will collect roof water that will be used for fisheries. The school will be finished in December 2012.