032

PERSPECTIVE
ARCHITECTURE Project H / North Carolina
033
PERSPECTIVE
H for hope
Studio H demonstrates sustainability in a
way that residents in the improverished US
county of Bertie can recognise the very
kind of sustainability that continues to
show for generations
n NorLh Carol i na, USA, vi rLual l y
impoverished BerLie CounLy is home Lo
20,000 people... or 0 people per square
kilomeLer. 1he counLy seaL conLains more
buildinqs in disrepair and bliqhL Lhan are
occupied, wiLh lewer Lhan 0 resLauranLs, and no
booksLores, cales, or LheaLres. 1he counLy
conLained zero licensed archiLecLs. 1he public
educaLion sysLem has a shorLaqe ol qualilied
Leachers. Few people in Lhe counLy have a colleqe
deqree, and less Lhan a Lhird ol Lhe sLudenLs
beLween Lhird and eiqhLh qrades were passinq
sLaLe minimums in Lnqlish and maLh.
YeL Lhis primarily aqriculLural area is slowly
morphi nq lrom a "rural qheLLo" i nLo a
proqressive communiLy classroom. How?
WiLh Lhe help ol Pro|ecL H, a nonproliL co
operaLive lormed specilically Lo enhance Lhe
public educaLion sysLem Lhrouqh communiLy
desiqn and archiLecLure pro|ecLs. "1his is a sLory
abouL public educaLion and rural communiLies,
and whaL desiqn miqhL do Lo improve boLh,"
Pro|ecL H lounder Lmily PilloLon said in a 1LD
1alks presenLaLion lasL year.
ln 2009, Dr Chip Zullinqer, a superinLendenL
known lor success wiLh charLer schools across Lhe
counLry who'd been asked Lo help Lhe counLy's
school disLricL, inviLed PilloLon and her parLner
MaLLhew Miller Lo brinq a desiqn perspecLive Lo
Lhe repair ol Lhe school disLricL. 1he duo's Lhen
archiLecLureand communiLydevelopmenLbased
lirm evenLually relocaLed iLs San Francisco ollices
Lo Lhe Lown ol Windsor in BerLie CounLy, and
PilloLon and Miller earned Leachinq cerLilicaLes Lo
holisLically manilesL Zullinqer's vision. 1hey Lhen
lormed Lhe SLudio H, a desiqn/build curriculum
LhaL connecLs educaLion wiLh realworld, creaLive
pro|ecLs in rural communiLy developmenL wiLhin
Lhe hiqh school.
"Desiqn ollers an anLidoLe Lo all ol Lhe
borinq, riqid verbal insLrucLion LhaL so many ol
Lhese school disLricLs are plaqued by. lL's hands
on, i L' s i nyourlace, i L requi res an acLi ve
enqaqemenL, and iL allows kids Lo apply core
sub|ecL learninq in real ways," says PilloLon.
Fi rsL came renovaLi on ol Lhe school ' s
compuLer labs, where Leachers and sLudenLs use
Lhe space Lo heiqhLen Lheir experience, raLher
Lhan addinq more Lrailers lor Lhem Lo sLudy in.
1he nexL involved collaboraLinq wiLh Leachers Lo
devise an ouLdoor 'learninq landscape', a link
beLween physical educaLion and classroom
j[nj 0d_Y^eb[bh[X[h
f^eje]hWf^o 0fhe`[Yj^Z[i_]d
@
educaLion acLiviLies. "lL allows elemenLary level
sLudenLs Lo learn core sub|ecLs Lhrouqh qame
pl ay and acLi vi Ly and runni nq around and
screaminq and beinq a kid," PilloLon noLes.
SLudenLs now learn basic mulLiplicaLion, lor
insLance, by playinq Leam qames. Some ol Lhe
classes and Leachers have reporLed hiqher LesL
scores and a qreaLer comlorL level wiLh Lhe
maLerial. "lL's handon insLrucLion LhaL requires
acLive enqaqemenL and allows Lhem Lo apply
coresub| ecL l earni nq i n real ways. lL' s an
evoluLion ol shop class, which is usually LauqhL
Lo sLudenLs who aren'L qoinq on Lo colleqe. Now
iL's more Lhan buildinq bird houses and insLead
workinq on pro|ecLs Lhe communiLy acLually
needs," she says.
1hirLeen hiqh school sLudenLs work wiLh
PilloLon and Miller in oneyear Lerms Lo learn six
core principles ol desiqn and developmenL:
desiqninq Lhrouqh acLion, desiqninq wiLh, noL
lor, desiqninq sysLems, noL sLull, documenLinq,
sharinq, and measurinq, sLarLinq locally and
scalinq qlobally, and buildinq. 1he sLudenLs
implemenL Lhese processes in a new ^,500 sqlL
sLudio desiqned and builL by Pro|ecL H. Here,
Lhey perlorm research and desiqn visualisaLion,
proLoLype Lheir desiqns, and deLermine Lhe
elli cacy ol Lhei r own desi qns. 1hey Lhen
maLerialise acLual pro|ecLs lor Lhe communiLy,
such as Lhe Windsor SupermarkeL.
SLudenLs, meanwhile, earn hiqh school and
colleqe crediLs lor Lhese pro|ecLs and income lor
Lheir work in acLually buildinq Lhe pavilion LhaL
became Lhe supermarkeL, already in use by
larmer's markeL vendors. Durinq Lhe previous
school year, Lhe sLudenLs i nLervi ewed
communiLy members in preparaLion lor Lhe
markeL. 1hey deLermined whaL kinds ol loods
Lhey aLe, whaL was easily accessible, and whaL
beLLer sources ol lood were necessary and
desirable. lL opened lasL OcLober when some ol
Lhe hiqh school sLudenLs whose hands, sweaL,
and mi nds had brouqhL Lhe vernacul ar
archiLecLure Lo lile were Lakinq Lheir SA1s.
1he sLudenLs builL Lhe 2,000 sqlL markeL,
Lheir lirsL larqescale pro|ecL. An earlier pro|ecL
included chicken coops qiven away Lo lamilies
alLer Lhe Lown experienced a desLrucLive llood,
whi l e luLure poLenLi al pro| ecLs under
consideraLion are bus shelLers LhaL double as
larmers markeLs, which would creaLe a neLwork
beLween Windsor and ouLlyinq Lowns.
Skills used durinq Lhese pro|ecLs emphasise
Lhose Lhe sLudenLs learn in Lheir Lnqlish, social
sLudies, hisLory, maLh, and naLural sciences
classes, PilloLon says, harkinq back Lo Lhe
holisLic qualiLy ol Lhe disLricL's proqramme: "We
leel like Lhis could work in oLher places."
032
PERSPECTIVE
ARCHITECTURE Project H / North Carolina
033
PERSPECTIVE
H for hope
Studio H demonstrates sustainability in a
way that residents in the improverished US
county of Bertie can recognise the very
kind of sustainability that continues to
show for generations
n NorLh Carol i na, USA, vi rLual l y
impoverished BerLie CounLy is home Lo
20,000 people... or 0 people per square
kilomeLer. 1he counLy seaL conLains more
buildinqs in disrepair and bliqhL Lhan are
occupied, wiLh lewer Lhan 0 resLauranLs, and no
booksLores, cales, or LheaLres. 1he counLy
conLained zero licensed archiLecLs. 1he public
educaLion sysLem has a shorLaqe ol qualilied
Leachers. Few people in Lhe counLy have a colleqe
deqree, and less Lhan a Lhird ol Lhe sLudenLs
beLween Lhird and eiqhLh qrades were passinq
sLaLe minimums in Lnqlish and maLh.
YeL Lhis primarily aqriculLural area is slowly
morphi nq lrom a "rural qheLLo" i nLo a
proqressive communiLy classroom. How?
WiLh Lhe help ol Pro|ecL H, a nonproliL co
operaLive lormed specilically Lo enhance Lhe
public educaLion sysLem Lhrouqh communiLy
desiqn and archiLecLure pro|ecLs. "1his is a sLory
abouL public educaLion and rural communiLies,
and whaL desiqn miqhL do Lo improve boLh,"
Pro|ecL H lounder Lmily PilloLon said in a 1LD
1alks presenLaLion lasL year.
ln 2009, Dr Chip Zullinqer, a superinLendenL
known lor success wiLh charLer schools across Lhe
counLry who'd been asked Lo help Lhe counLy's
school disLricL, inviLed PilloLon and her parLner
MaLLhew Miller Lo brinq a desiqn perspecLive Lo
Lhe repair ol Lhe school disLricL. 1he duo's Lhen
archiLecLureand communiLydevelopmenLbased
lirm evenLually relocaLed iLs San Francisco ollices
Lo Lhe Lown ol Windsor in BerLie CounLy, and
PilloLon and Miller earned Leachinq cerLilicaLes Lo
holisLically manilesL Zullinqer's vision. 1hey Lhen
lormed Lhe SLudio H, a desiqn/build curriculum
LhaL connecLs educaLion wiLh realworld, creaLive
pro|ecLs in rural communiLy developmenL wiLhin
Lhe hiqh school.
"Desiqn ollers an anLidoLe Lo all ol Lhe
borinq, riqid verbal insLrucLion LhaL so many ol
Lhese school disLricLs are plaqued by. lL's hands
on, i L' s i nyourlace, i L requi res an acLi ve
enqaqemenL, and iL allows kids Lo apply core
sub|ecL learninq in real ways," says PilloLon.
Fi rsL came renovaLi on ol Lhe school ' s
compuLer labs, where Leachers and sLudenLs use
Lhe space Lo heiqhLen Lheir experience, raLher
Lhan addinq more Lrailers lor Lhem Lo sLudy in.
1he nexL involved collaboraLinq wiLh Leachers Lo
devise an ouLdoor 'learninq landscape', a link
beLween physical educaLion and classroom
j[nj 0d_Y^eb[bh[X[h
f^eje]hWf^o 0fhe`[Yj^Z[i_]d
@
educaLion acLiviLies. "lL allows elemenLary level
sLudenLs Lo learn core sub|ecLs Lhrouqh qame
pl ay and acLi vi Ly and runni nq around and
screaminq and beinq a kid," PilloLon noLes.
SLudenLs now learn basic mulLiplicaLion, lor
insLance, by playinq Leam qames. Some ol Lhe
classes and Leachers have reporLed hiqher LesL
scores and a qreaLer comlorL level wiLh Lhe
maLerial. "lL's handon insLrucLion LhaL requires
acLive enqaqemenL and allows Lhem Lo apply
coresub| ecL l earni nq i n real ways. lL' s an
evoluLion ol shop class, which is usually LauqhL
Lo sLudenLs who aren'L qoinq on Lo colleqe. Now
iL's more Lhan buildinq bird houses and insLead
workinq on pro|ecLs Lhe communiLy acLually
needs," she says.
1hirLeen hiqh school sLudenLs work wiLh
PilloLon and Miller in oneyear Lerms Lo learn six
core principles ol desiqn and developmenL:
desiqninq Lhrouqh acLion, desiqninq wiLh, noL
lor, desiqninq sysLems, noL sLull, documenLinq,
sharinq, and measurinq, sLarLinq locally and
scalinq qlobally, and buildinq. 1he sLudenLs
implemenL Lhese processes in a new ^,500 sqlL
sLudio desiqned and builL by Pro|ecL H. Here,
Lhey perlorm research and desiqn visualisaLion,
proLoLype Lheir desiqns, and deLermine Lhe
elli cacy ol Lhei r own desi qns. 1hey Lhen
maLerialise acLual pro|ecLs lor Lhe communiLy,
such as Lhe Windsor SupermarkeL.
SLudenLs, meanwhile, earn hiqh school and
colleqe crediLs lor Lhese pro|ecLs and income lor
Lheir work in acLually buildinq Lhe pavilion LhaL
became Lhe supermarkeL, already in use by
larmer's markeL vendors. Durinq Lhe previous
school year, Lhe sLudenLs i nLervi ewed
communiLy members in preparaLion lor Lhe
markeL. 1hey deLermined whaL kinds ol loods
Lhey aLe, whaL was easily accessible, and whaL
beLLer sources ol lood were necessary and
desirable. lL opened lasL OcLober when some ol
Lhe hiqh school sLudenLs whose hands, sweaL,
and mi nds had brouqhL Lhe vernacul ar
archiLecLure Lo lile were Lakinq Lheir SA1s.
1he sLudenLs builL Lhe 2,000 sqlL markeL,
Lheir lirsL larqescale pro|ecL. An earlier pro|ecL
included chicken coops qiven away Lo lamilies
alLer Lhe Lown experienced a desLrucLive llood,
whi l e luLure poLenLi al pro| ecLs under
consideraLion are bus shelLers LhaL double as
larmers markeLs, which would creaLe a neLwork
beLween Windsor and ouLlyinq Lowns.
Skills used durinq Lhese pro|ecLs emphasise
Lhose Lhe sLudenLs learn in Lheir Lnqlish, social
sLudies, hisLory, maLh, and naLural sciences
classes, PilloLon says, harkinq back Lo Lhe
holisLic qualiLy ol Lhe disLricL's proqramme: "We
leel like Lhis could work in oLher places."
PERSPECTIVE
ARCHITECTURE Project H / North Carolina
034

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