Carnegie Mellon University: Urban Design Build Studio Community Construction Cooperative
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) students and leaders of CMU are working together to establish the UDBS Community Construction Cooperative (UDBS C3). The UDBS C3 is a self-contained, educational workshop facility located at the Construction Junction, a non-profit material repurposing center in close proximity to the University. The UDBS C3 is a construction workshop facility providing job- and skill-training programs for community residents and educational constituents.
Utilizing green building practices, CMU students and trainees produced housing prototypes for challenged communities in Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. The project will contribute to a large-scale implementation of green building practice and will work with commercial industries to mass produce the UDBS C3 prototype with community-vested ownership.
CMU students aimed to expand the capacity of the UDBS in serving challenged communities and their residents. There were various opportunities for CMU students to hone and demonstrate their leadership skills through the design of community projects. The project also provided a year-round, sheltered workspace for full-scale construction and construction-training programs. CMU students also partnered with at-risk youth to establish a mentoring program.
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Carnegie Mellon University was a 2011 winner of the Ford College Community Challenge.
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Carnegie Mellon students established the UDBS Community Construction Cooperative (UDBS C3), a self-contained, educational workshop facility.
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The workshop will utilize green building practices to produce housing prototypes for local communities in need.
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The project also provides a year-round, sheltered workspace for full-scale construction and construction training programs, and partners CMU students with at-risk youth to establish a mentoring program.
Cleveland Institute of Art: “Fish and Ships”
Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) students worked to design and implement sustainable bulkheads to live in the Cuyahoga River. This project partnered the U.S. Army Corps and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission to design alternatives to the now deteriorating steel and concrete bulkheads that line the last several miles of the river leading to its mouth at Lake Erie.
According to the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, the Cuyahoga River bulkheads, heavy gauge steel panels and concrete walls used to keep the riverbanks stable and in place were deteriorating and beginning to jeopardize safe navigation for large ships. The sustainability of Cleveland's economy depends on the river continuing to serve as a reliable thoroughfare for commerce.
As a result to the need for bulkhead designs, CIA Industrial Design students generated numerous concepts of new, “green” bulkheads that would maintain a navigable channel in the Cuyahoga River for industrial shipping.
The replacement bulkheads are environmentally sustainable, designed by the CIA students to mimic a natural, plant-covered riverbank that provides a protective habitat for fish and minimizes erosion by filtering sediment out of runoff that enters the river, resulting in improved water quality.
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Students from CIA proposed innovative and green solutions to the deteriorating bulkheads on the Cuyahoga River which are jeopardizing ship transit and the animal and plant life in the area.
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Using biomimicry, the students identified new methods to create green bulkheads to improve the ship transit in an environmentally sustainable way.
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CIA students created various solutions for green bulkheads in the Cuyahoga River.
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CIA students created various solutions for green bulkheads in the Cuyahoga River.
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CIA students created various solutions for green bulkheads in the Cuyahoga River.
Howard University: The D.C. School Sustainability Project: A College Mentoring Partnership
Howard University honor students from Howard’s School of Business partnered with local high school students in a sustainability case competition between 15 Washington, D.C. metropolitan area high schools. The paired teams created strategies aimed to help high school campuses become more sustainable places to work and learn.
W.W. Grainger and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnered with Howard University to provide the initial sustainability training to the high school teams. This training was supplemented by mentoring, as well as face-to-face and hands-on guidance from Howard University students. The teams conducted research, designed projects and submitted written reports on their respective high school campuses.
Their findings and recommendations were judged by a team of experts in the sustainability field. The top three teams received monetary awards ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. Additionally, if any high school student should later enroll as a freshman business student at Howard University, the award will be matched with a scholarship by the School of Business.
Purdue University: Wabash River
In partnership with the local non-profit organization, Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC), and in cooperation with faculty from the Purdue Water Community, Purdue University students led efforts to install urban water projects, such as rain barrels, rain gardens, green roofs and native plants in target areas within the community.
These projects served as educational demonstration sites and were placed at Oakland High School, Purdue University and two additional sites in the community. These projects provided learning and leadership experience for Purdue students as they were charged with integrating their expertise into project development and implementation.
Students were responsible for identifying project locations; designing appropriate projects for the site condition needs and water quality targets; and hosting community and campus volunteer days to complete project installation.
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To combat pollution, students from Purdue implemented several urban water projects, including rain barrels, rain gardens, green roofs and native plants in their local community.
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Purdue’s urban water projects also serve as a learning and leadership experience for students and educational demonstration sites for community stakeholders.
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Purdue students implement their urban water projects with community stakeholders.
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Purdue students implement their urban water projects with community stakeholders.
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Purdue students implement their urban water projects with community stakeholders.