New Orleans--The newly formed Social/Economic/Environmental Design (SEED) Network met in New Orleans last month to continue shaping its mission and explore ways to contribute to, and learn from, the Crescent City?s recovery effort. More than 60 architects, planners, developers, academics, advocates and artists took part in this collaborative effort to understand the process of ?re-inhabiting,? as some locals call it. The meeting was hosted by the Center for Bioenvironmental Research, a joint initiative between Tulane and Xavier Universities.
SEED brings together people from various disciplines who share a commitment to collaborative design that engages whole communities. ?We?re hopeful we can help make connections between those seeking assistance and those offering it,? said Design Corps founder Bryan Bell, a SEED coordinator and a planner/architect from Raleigh, NC.
The concept of SEED as a social complement to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a widely recognized green building rating system, has grown quickly since the initial meeting at Harvard University last fall.
The Network sees itself as part of a global movement. Called ?community-based design,? this practice of ?trusting the local? is increasingly recognized as the most effective way to sustain the health and longevity of a place.
?We know from experience that people can shape their own world,? offered architect and former Mayor Maurice Cox of Charlottesville, Va. ?What results is far superior to anything an outside ?expert? could arbitrarily come up with.?
Local architect Ray Manning and Reed Kroloff, Dean of the School of Architecture at Tulane University, both members of the Mayor?s Bring Back New Orleans Commission, briefed the group on the recovery plan due this summer. ?Before the storm, New Orleans was a city in decline, with one-third of its population living below the poverty line,? said Kroloff. ?No one wants to recreate those physical conditions, but we hope that everyone who wants to will be able to come back.?
Only 120,000 people out of 480,000 have remained in or returned to the city. "How do we listen to the community when so few have returned?" asked Mary Rowe, a fellow with the Blue Moon Fund and the moderator of the proceedings. "The process is not just about built form. It needs to involve a much broader constituency, and we need to find creative, innovative ways to involve that constituency."
One initiative that has already taken shape in response to these discussions is the Katrina Furniture Project. Conceived by the Stephen Goldsmith, Director of the Enterprise Foundation?s Frederick P. Rose Architectural Fellowship Program, the project will help re-employ New Orleans residents to create furniture and other useful objects out of material salvaged from the storm?s debris. ?We want to support local efforts that bring the resilient, creative spirit of local artists and others together as they unite to rebuild their homes,? said Goldsmith. ?The furniture project expresses our commitment to bringing SEED principles to community development processes at every scale.?
For more information about the SEED network, visit www.seed-network.org.
SEED brings together people from various disciplines who share a commitment to collaborative design that engages whole communities. ?We?re hopeful we can help make connections between those seeking assistance and those offering it,? said Design Corps founder Bryan Bell, a SEED coordinator and a planner/architect from Raleigh, NC.
The concept of SEED as a social complement to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a widely recognized green building rating system, has grown quickly since the initial meeting at Harvard University last fall.
The Network sees itself as part of a global movement. Called ?community-based design,? this practice of ?trusting the local? is increasingly recognized as the most effective way to sustain the health and longevity of a place.
?We know from experience that people can shape their own world,? offered architect and former Mayor Maurice Cox of Charlottesville, Va. ?What results is far superior to anything an outside ?expert? could arbitrarily come up with.?
Local architect Ray Manning and Reed Kroloff, Dean of the School of Architecture at Tulane University, both members of the Mayor?s Bring Back New Orleans Commission, briefed the group on the recovery plan due this summer. ?Before the storm, New Orleans was a city in decline, with one-third of its population living below the poverty line,? said Kroloff. ?No one wants to recreate those physical conditions, but we hope that everyone who wants to will be able to come back.?
Only 120,000 people out of 480,000 have remained in or returned to the city. "How do we listen to the community when so few have returned?" asked Mary Rowe, a fellow with the Blue Moon Fund and the moderator of the proceedings. "The process is not just about built form. It needs to involve a much broader constituency, and we need to find creative, innovative ways to involve that constituency."
One initiative that has already taken shape in response to these discussions is the Katrina Furniture Project. Conceived by the Stephen Goldsmith, Director of the Enterprise Foundation?s Frederick P. Rose Architectural Fellowship Program, the project will help re-employ New Orleans residents to create furniture and other useful objects out of material salvaged from the storm?s debris. ?We want to support local efforts that bring the resilient, creative spirit of local artists and others together as they unite to rebuild their homes,? said Goldsmith. ?The furniture project expresses our commitment to bringing SEED principles to community development processes at every scale.?
For more information about the SEED network, visit www.seed-network.org.
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