Urban Design Studio III, Spring 2016

Faculty
Kate Orff (Coordinator) Ziad Jamaleddine, Petra Kempf, Laura Kurgan, Guilherme Lassance, Geeta Mehta

Description
The 2016 Columbia Urban Design studio investigated the ongoing process of urbanization along the Paraíba Valley, the regional interdependencies of resource extraction and consumption, climate and deforestation, settlement pattern and migration relative to emerging spatial forms along the river corridor. Design teams are moving beyond notions of city vs. countryside to describe interdependent systems that comprise the larger territory and advance a holistic approach of urban life that is inclusive of social and natural systems. The studio is focusing on water as a lens through which to discover, investigate, and transform this condition. Water is a central theme, and a study of the rapidly urbanizing Paraiba valley itself reveals both the political conflict and regenerative potential of water as an urban catalyst. By adopting an integrated design methodology, students move beyond traditional questions of density and built form to consider public health, access, food, waste, ecology and energy as key urban questions.

Students
Dhruv Batra, Hannah Beall, Guangyue Cao, Jiajing Cao, Xi Chen, Serena Ceada Fernandes, Nicolle Rebecca Gitlin, Eleni Gklinou, Francisco Jung, Surbhi Kamboj, Yuri Kim, Xinye Li, Ni- shant Samir Mehta, Shiwani Pol, Graci Salisbury Mills, Yi-Yen Wang, Fei Xiong, Ziyang Zeng, Lee Yan Shun, and Ashwini Karanth.