
Social justice. How can that be achieved? At Portland State University School of Architecture, faculty and students are exploring just this issue in different forms. Often when people think of Portland or the state of Oregon, images of “crunchy” eco-“warriors” come to mind, but these issues are not simply proxies for a lifestyle or consumer choices. Rather, when discussing people and ecology, the issues are about resources. Specifically, how do humans use and allocate resources to promote fair, well-distributed advancements rather than exploitation, oppression and conspicuous consumption.
Towards that end, the School of Architecture has just inaugurated the new Center for Public Interest Design, an initiative that is working towards “making transformative and systemic change,” in the words of Director Sergio Palleroni. These solutions and interventions rely not just on the imagination or innovation of design minds, but on research “that investigates the best of these emerging models of practice, and participatory action research that accounts for the contribution of client communities and the unique social, political and economic conditions of each place—while making the best use of our planet’s limited resources.” This can potentially offer an important template for social involvement, one that is rooted in cultural, demographic, and historical research rather than merely applying a superficial spatial approach.
One project that resulted from this research-based collaboration between teachers, students, and industry is the SAGE Classroom, a modular, cost-effective and ecologically responsible option for schools that require more classroom space. The aim is to use responsible, renewable construction materials to construct a classroom that provides a healthier environment for teachers and students while conserving energy over the lifetime of the structure. What’s more, the initial cost is slightly more than a conventional classroom structure.
