Open Doors: Re-Imagining the Future
The College Park First United Methodist Church is by no means unique. Everywhere, in Atlanta and beyond, there are aging churches with dwindling congregations that have more property than they can possibly maintain. This class asks students to examine the property and adjacent site with a focus on pre-design, programming, site analysis, conceptual cost estimating, and initial architectural concept. Impact: A team of graduate students in the Schools of Architecture and Building Construction, in collaboration with the College Park First United Methodist Church, Good Places, and Cooper Carry Architects, examined the church campus and adjacent site. Students engaged in a series of creative listening sessions and workshops with community stakeholders, developing a clear and focused proposed direction for the campus.
PROJECT CREDITS:
Instructors:
- Julie Ju-Youn Kim RA AIA NCARB
Community Collaborators:
- College Park First United Methodist Church Board of Trustees
Collaborators:
- W. Ennis Parker AIA, Professor of the Practice, School of Architecture and School of Building Construction (Georgia Tech)
- Kyle Reis, AIA, AICP (Cooper Carry)
- Cherie Ong (Good Places)
- EJ Lee (Good Places)
Students:
- Kristy Cho
- Matthew Denig
- Emily Khalid
- Grace Lee
- Joshua Macbeth
- Elliot Park
- Maria Pastorelli
- Quynh Pham
- Chris Tromp
- Arti Verma
“The students approach their community engagement with open minds, a sincere desire to listen, and an ability to gather feedback and improve their design throughout the process. It is the role of the design professional to facilitate this process and use their expertise and knowledge to generate solutions that reach beyond the imagination. The beauty of the Flourishing Communities Collaborative is the framework it provides to encourage students to think outside their campus and begin to tackle the real issues facing communities across the country. The students are now armed with an experience which they can leverage in their own careers as they continue to engage in meaningful ways as design professionals.”
– Kyle Reis, AIA, AICP, President and CEO, Cooper Carry, Inc.
