Taubman College Faculty Members Mankouche and Schulte Win Architect Magazine’s 2013 Progressive Architecture Award
Gaming strategies used to help youth envision spatial scenarios in project redesign
Associate Professor of Architecture Steven Mankouche and Lecturer in Architecture Matthew Schulte of ARCHOLAB (Architecture Research Collaborative) have won Architect Magazine’s 2013 Progressive Architecture Award for their project titled, “Farm, Gaming Strategies of Empowering Marginalized Youth.”
Initiated as a series of architectural design workshops with their client, Project Reach, the project involved redesigning an historic Catskill dairy and cauliflower farm into a sustainable retreat facility.
With research assistants Charles Veneklase (M.Arch 2011, M.S.D.R. 2012) and Melinda Rouse (M.Arch 2011, M.S.D.R. 2012) Mankouche and Schulte used gaming strategies with the organization’s young people that enhance their ability to envision and articulate alternative spatial scenarios on the Farm for its future use and activity. The Farm sits on nearly 80 acres of rural land where a handful of greater and lesser used buildings did not escape the games: an 1800’s era barn re-designed for social justice workshops, a milk house reformulated as a bath house, a tumble-down chicken coop propped up and slid open to make a stargazing and hangout space, and a condemned guesthouse demolished all but for the foundation which revived as a port-a-potty “corral.”
Mankouche and Schulte received the award at the 60th Annual PA Award at the MOMA in New York, February 21, 2013.
The project was made possible by the generous support of the University of Michigan Arts of Citizenship Program, the Office of the Vice President of Research and seed funding by Taubman College. It was also developed with talented input from research assistants Jonathan Sturt (BS’07, MArch 2011) and Jonathan LeJune (MS_DR 2012) and the help of Claire Sheridan (MArch 2009, MS_DR 2010), Richard Tursky (MArch 2012), Julie Simpson (MArch 2010), A+D Lecturer Andrew Thompson and Visual Artist Abigail Murray.
Project Reach is a multi-racial, multi-gender, New York City-based anti-discrimination training organization engaging a diverse and often marginalized city youth community.
For additional information about the project, visit:
