Gorham Bird
2024 Richard L. Blinder Award
PLAN WITH, NOT FOR: Co-Design at the Old Merritt Rosenwald School
This work explores a preservation design project as a case study for the expansion of traditional architectural practice. Through critical reflection, the collaborative opportunities of the design process are explored and expanded upon through an engaged practice for the preservation of places of the past. This process challenges the archetypical ‘genius architect’, repositioning the architect as an integrator of communities’ collective memory, participation, and technical expertise. This project tests the capacity for conservation and cultural heritage work to be a multidisciplinary collaboration for the public good. The term conservation is used interchangeably with historic preservation, valuing the creative potential for both disciplines. The process includes the assessment of existing structures: evaluating the current condition, historical significance, and potential for adaptation; identification of adaptation strategies: determining suitable methods for retrofit, restoration, or repair based on the building’s characteristics and intended use; and implementation of adaptation strategies: planning and executing chosen strategies, ensuring they meet technical and preservation requirements, and, most importantly, listening to and fulfilling the desires of the community. This process is a unique opportunity to engage in ethics, technical rigor, and local agency. The goal is to more effectively reflect the communities desires for their benefit and the benefit of future generations.
This project argues that preservation of historically marginalized cultural sites demands a paradigm shift from architect-as-expert to architect-as-integrator. The Old Merritt Rosenwald School demonstrates that the co-design process can align technical rigor with community agency to advance equity, cultural memory and intergenerational collaboration.